The first batch of yatris for the two month long Amarnath Yatra will leave from Jammu on 27 June for their onward journey to the shrine located in Himalayas at a height of 13,500 feet.
“The first batch comprising of pilgrims and sadhus will leave from Bhagwati Nagar based Yatri Niwas, base camp of Amarnath yatra in Jammu for their onward journey to Baltal in Ganderbal and Pahalgam in Anantnag, the twin base camps for Kashmir,” informed a police official.
The two month long yatra will culminate on Sawan Purnima coinciding with Raksha Bandan on 26 August.
The security forces have chalked out a foolproof strategy to ensure incident free and peaceful pilgrimage. Sources said multi-layered security deployment has been put in place for the yatra base camp in Jammu. “Persons including vendors as well as employees of various government departments on yatra duty have been provided with special entry passes and no one will be allowed entry into the premises of base camp without valid card or reasons,” said an official.
In a first, vehicle tracking chips will also be installed on all yatra bound vehicles. “The security arrangements for yatra are a top most priority and forces will work round the clock to ensure incident free yatra,” said Inspector General of Police Jammu, Shiv Dev Singh Jamwal. “Special counters have been set up at Lakhanpur to install tracking chips for all yatra bound vehicle to keep an eye on their movement throughout the route.”
