LG Flags off First Batch of Pilgrims from Jammu 'Amarnath Yatra'

The chants of “Har Har Mahadev”, “Bam Bam Bhole” and other Vedic hymns reverberated through Jammu at daybreak on Thursday as the first batch of 4,822 pilgrims, including saffron-clad sadhus and sadhvis, set out from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who also chairs the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), flagged off the convoy from the high-security base camp in the heart of the city,



formally setting in motion the pilgrimage to the cave shrine situated at an altitude of about 3,880 metres in the Himalayas of Kashmir.

Before the flag-off, Sinha performed a special puja and extended his best wishes to the devotees. He said the administration, the SASB, J&K Police, security forces, health authorities, sanitation teams, voluntary organisations and local stakeholders had put in place comprehensive arrangements to ensure a safe, smooth and hassle-free pilgrimage.