SRINAGAR, AUGUST 02: Due to recent heavy rainfall and the need for track maintenance along both the Baltal and Pahalgam axes of the Shri Amarnathji Yatra route, the Yatra movement has been closed on both tracks.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, stated, “Due to the recent heavy rains, critical repair and maintenance works are required on both the Baltal and Pahalgam routes. It has been observed that due to the continued deployment of men and machinery on the tracks from tomorrow, we will not be able to resume the yatra. The Yatra will therefore remain suspended from 3rd August onwards from both routes.”
More than 4.10 lakh yatris paid obeisance at the Holy Cave of Shri Amarnathji this year.
Each year, the Amarnath Yatra begins during the Shravan month (July-August). Situated at an altitude of 3,888 meters, the holy Amarnath cave is accessible from two routes in the Kashmir Valley. The 46-km Pahalgam–holy cave trek is an ancient pilgrimage route that is covered in five days. There lies the ice lingam of Lord Shiva that is formed naturally and waxes and wanes with the moon. The new 14-kilometer Baltal-holy cave route is now preferred by the pilgrims since it is shorter, though steep, and the journey can be completed in a day. Extraordinary security arrangements have been made for the yatra this year.
Post-Pahalgam attack, security forces are on high alert to ensure an incident-free yatra. Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, has been working overtime to make the yatra comfortable. A key safety feature introduced this year is the mandatory RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tracking for all pilgrims. This is used for real-time monitoring of pilgrims’ movement. This also helps the authorities to help people during exigencies or medical emergencies. Authorities have also installed facial recognition systems (FRS) to detect and flag potential threats in real-time.