JK News Today
Jammu, June 29: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha will flag off first batch of Amarnath pilgrims from Jammu on Friday- June 30 at 4 in the morning , a day ahead of the commencement of the annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine devoted to Lord Shiva from Saturday morning .
The batch to be flagged off from Jammu at 4 a m on Friday will be reaching their respective base camps in Baltal and Pahalgam by the same evening
The first batch of the pilgrims will comprise devotes who have come to Jammu from various parts of the country , as also the Sadhus and others to undertake the journey of faith up to the Himalayan heights
This year , the yatra will last for longest ever period of 62 days from July 1 to August 31. It is estimated that more than six lakh pilgrims will take part in the yatra , which will officially commence with all the religious rituals at the cave shrine on July 1 .
More than sufficient arrangements have been made to facilitate the yatris for a hassle-free yatra to the cave shrine situated at the height of 13,500 feet in Kashmir Himalayas . A naturally made Shivlingam is the major source of pilgrims’ faith . the “ Shivlingam” , the Shiv Bhaktas believe is icon of Lord Shiva . The Hindu mythology says that Lord Shiva had narrated the tale of immortality to his wife Parvati is the cave far away from the human and animal habitat .
Extraordinary security arrangements have been made for the security and safety of the pilgrims . Army and J&K police are playing a key role in the security of the pilgrimage . Director General of Police Dilbag Singh and Northern Command chief of the Indian army Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi have been personally supervising the security arrangements.. .
