Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today flagged off the first batch of 4,890 pilgrims at around 4 in the morning from the Bhagwati Nagar- Jammu to Kashmir Valley for Hindu Holy Pilgrimage Amarnath cave, a trek 46 km from Pahalgam or 16 km from Baltal, up high in the Himalayas to an ice stalagmite.
As per the Hindu belief, the stalagmite represents the phallus of Hindu God Shiva.
Thousands and Lakhs of Hindu devotees in India take off the holy journey every year, It is beginning after a gap of two years due to the Covid pandemic lockdowns. In 2019 it was cut short following intelligence inputs of threats ahead of the Government of India’s scrapping autonomous status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
This year Amarnath pilgrimage will be one of the biggest in the history of Jammu and Kashmir as around six to eight lakh pilgrims are expected to undertake the journey.
At least 500 additional companies of security forces including BSF, CRPF, ITBP and SSB, have been deployed for the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage. This is apart from the army, CRPF, BSF and police forces already present in Kashmir.
Multi-tier security has been implemented and pilgrims have been provided RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) a wireless tracking system for tracking locations on a real-time basis.
Meanwhile, Lt Governor prayed for peace, prosperity and safe spiritual journey for pilgrims on the occasion.
Mayor Jammu Municipal Corporation, Sh Chander Mohan Gupta; Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta; prominent political and religious leaders and senior officers of the administration including ADGP Jammu, Sh Mukesh Singh; Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Sh Ramesh Kumar; DC Jammu, Ms Avny Lavasa; Commissioner JMC, Sh Rahul Yadav, besides others were present at the occasion.
The intense security followed after a militant outfit TRF (The Resistance Front) issued a threat over the Amarnath Pilgrimage.