Amarnath Yatra: Registration Of Pilgrims for 62-Day Long Pilgrimage Begins

Srinagar: Two days after the Jammu and Kashmir Government announced the schedule for Amarnath Yatra 2023, registrations for the annual pilgrimage begin across the country on Monday. As per reports in just 24 hours thousands of people have registered themselves in designated bank branches across the country. The 62-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir is scheduled to start on July 1 and continue till August 31. The journey can be undertaken through two routes, the traditional 48-kilometre route through Pahalgam in Anantnag district in south Kashmir and the 14-kilometre shorter Baltal route in the Ganderbal district of central Kashmir. For the first time, SASB has introduced Aadhaar authentication-based registration for pilgrims as compared to the manual procedure of previous years.

A bank official said, “In 316 bank branches of PNB ( Punjab National Bank) across the country the registration has begun. Pilgrims received forms manually till last year. but now they are system generated. It is mandatory for all aspiring pilgrims to get a health certificate from designated doctors all over India,” the registration officer said.

"The schedule of the pilgrimage was decided at the 44th meeting of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) chaired by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the Raj Bhavan. The yatra would commence simultaneously from both routes," officials said.

The shrine board will also enable live telecasts of morning and evening "aarti" (prayers) for devotees across the globe.

The board, which manages the annual pilgrimage, has designated 542 bank branches across the country for the registration of the pilgrims, in addition to the facility on its website.

According to it, no one below the age of 13 years or above the age of 75 years, and no woman with more than six weeks of pregnancy shall be registered for the yatra.

Keeping in view last year's tragedy Government has instructed all concerned departments to take a review of the area and submit the report well before the start of the pilgrimage so that all necessary steps can be taken. 

Bedside the security arrangements which remain all years a prime concern for administration is being discussed thoroughly and three tire security arrangement is being done during a pilgrimage with all modern technology.