Amarnath Yatris receive rousing welcome

Srinagar, June 28: The first batch of the annual Amarnath Yatra received a warm welcome from Kashmiris and government authorities on Friday.
The batch, consisting of 4,603 pilgrims, reached the Kashmir valley amid stringent security arrangements.

Local Muslims, along with senior police and civil administration officials, joined in welcoming the yatris at several locations. The pilgrims, who were flagged off from the Bhagwati Nagar Jammu base camp early in the morning, were greeted upon their arrival in the valley.
The Yatra convoys received a warm welcome from both the administration and the public as they traveled to Kashmir. The pilgrims were welcomed with garlands in Kulgam, Anantnag, Srinagar, and Bandipora districts.
Bashir Ahmad, a local standing amid the bustling preparations in Pahalgam, expressed a heartfelt welcome to the Amarnath Yatris, saying, “We welcome the Yatris with all our hearts. They are our guests. We wait for them the whole year.”
Comprehensive arrangements, including three-tier security, area dominations, elaborate route deployment, and checkpoints, are in place.
The 52-day pilgrimage will commence on Saturday, starting from two routes: the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam path in Anantnag and the 14-km Baltal path in Ganderbal. The pilgrimage will conclude on August 19. Pilgrims reached the valley through the Navyug tunnel in Qazigund, located in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, traveling in a convoy of 231 light and heavy vehicles. They were warmly received by Kulgam Deputy Commissioner Athar Aamir Khan, SSP Kulgam, and members of civil society, the trade fraternity, fruit growers, and market associations.
“We welcome all of them. There are proper arrangements in place for them,” Khan said.
The convoys then departed for the base camps in Baltal and Pahalgam, from where pilgrims will begin their journey to the 3,880-meter-high holy cave shrine early on Saturday.
Pilgrims using the Pahalgam route were welcomed in Anantnag by Deputy Commissioner Syeed Fakhrudin Hamid and other officials. Meanwhile, those traveling via the Baltal route received a warm welcome at Pantha Chowk in Srinagar from Deputy Commissioner Bilal Mohi-ud-din Bhat and local residents. The convoy later received a rousing reception in Bandipora.
Earlier on Friday morning, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of pilgrims from the Yatri Niwas base camp at Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu.
Sinha wished the pilgrims a safe journey.