Amarnath Yatra Begins

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June - July is time for the annual Amarnath Yatra - one of the most sacred and popular pilgrimages to the holy snow-clad cave shrine of Lord Shiva in the beautiful northern Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir. Of all Hindu pilgrimages, Amarnath - situated at an altitude of 3,880 metres in the southern Kashmir Himalayas - is considered one of the holiest.

Darshan at the Holy Cave is generally open from early July (Ashad Purnima) to early August (Sharvan Purnima). In 2001, the pilgrimage started on July 4, and in its first week drew more than 10,000 pilgrims for the darshan of the naturally-formed ice Shiva Lingam at the holy cave shrine, according to official records. Since July 2 onwards, 3,500 pilgrims set off daily from the base camp in Jammu to Amarnath. The yatra or pilgrimage that year concluded on August 4, the day of the "Raksha Bandhan" festival.

For Registered Pilgrims Only!
No pilgrim is allowed to proceed for the yatra without proper registration. In 2001, an estimated 72,000 "yatris" or pilgrims registered themselves for the Amarnath Yatra through the seven registration centers set up for the purpose across India. A medical certification is a must before registering as a pilgrim. [See Details]

Security Measures
Kashmiri Islamic militant groups are against this annual pilgrimage, calling for security arrangements to be beefed up along the highway from Jammu to Srinagar to ensure a safe yatra. Only a couple of days after the 2001 pilgrimage opened, Indian defense troops foiled plans by militants to disrupt the Amarnath Yatra by recovering a huge cache of arms and explosives in the Anantnag district of Jammu & Kashmir. The army launched an operation at suspected terrorist hideouts across Pir Panjal ranges, and recovered explosives and rockets, which, according to defense officials, were meant to be taken to Banihal for disrupting the yatra.

Ensuring A Smooth Yatra
While most of the Pahalgam road is open to vehicular traffic, the last 24 km to the holy cave have to be traveled on foot. Adequate measures have been taken to make this tortuous trek easier. The route from Chandanwari to the holy cave has been widened, culverts and footbridges have been strengthened to avoid any untoward incident, and arrangements have been made for proper supply of drinking water to the pilgrims enroute the holy cave.

Power development department authorities have been asked to ensure uninterrupted power supply from Sarbal to the holy cave, particularly during nights, and the departments of health, food and supplies, and cooperatives have been asked to keep adequate stock of medicines, oxygen, food grains, firewood and other essentials for the convenience of the pilgrims.

In April, 2001, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had asked the Indian government to provide certain facilities for Amarnath pilgrims in the lines of the subsidies that are granted to Haj pilgrims.

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