LG performs puja to mark beginning of pilgrimage
To mark the beginning of 43-day Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday performed the ‘puja’ of Baba Barfani and prayed for peace, happiness and prosperity of all.
“I have full faith that the devotees travelling from all over the country to seek the divine blessings of Shri Amarnathji will have a safe and memorable pilgrimage,” Sinha said.
The devotees can have ‘Darshan’ of the Holy Ice Lingam at the Cave Shrine through live telecast of morning and evening Arti through Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board’s website.
Besides the Board members of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, Nitishwar Kumar, CEO SASB, and Lt General Amardeep Singh Aujla, GOC 15 Corps also participated in the ‘puja’.
Earlier, Second batch of 5,700 pilgrims left from here in a secured convoy to perform pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath in south of Himalayas amid tight security arrangements.
Chanting ‘Bam Bam Bhole’, the pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in a cavalcade of 230 vehicles early Thursday morning.
With the 2nd batch, the total number of pilgrims, who have left for the Amarnath cave shrine from Jammu goes up to 10,700, officials said.
Over 5,000 to 6,000 fresh pilgrims have arrived in Jammu from various places across the country for their onward journey to Amarnath, they said.
After on-the spot registration at three counters and supply of tokens at two counters, they have been lodged in 32 lodging centres and basecamps here, they said.
The annual Amarnath Yatra is being organised after a gap of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The shrine is situated 3,888 metres above the sea level in Himalayas in Kashmir. It houses an ice stalagmite structure called the Lingam’ that wanes and waxes with the phases of the moon. Devotees believe the Lingam’ symbolizes mythical powers of Lord Shiva.
The Yatra commenced on Thursday from the traditional 48-km Nunwan route in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam and the 14-km Baltal route in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal.
Over 3.42 lakh pilgrims had paid obeisance at the shrine from July 1 to August 1, 2019, before the government cancelled the pilgrimage midway ahead of the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories.
