The 52-day-long Shri Amarnathji Yatra will commence on June 29 this year and it will culminate on August 19, 2024 amid tight security arrangements.

Meanwhile, the advance registration for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage began on Monday across designated bank branches.

The Shrine Board authorities have also taken up the task of snow clearance on both tracks on a war footing. The leftover track expansion work will be taken up further after the completion of the snow clearance work.

“The advance registration has started today at bank branches here. The exercise is being conducted at 540 branches of PNB (Punjab National Bank) across the country,” an official involved in the registration process said.

It is Aadhaar authentication-based form generation for Yatris rather than the manual procedure followed in 2022, said the officials, adding that forms will be system-generated now.

“For registration, it is mandatory for the pilgrims to produce a health certificate. However, children below 13 years of age, elders above 70 years and six-week pregnant women will not be permitted for the pilgrimage.”

For issuing a Compulsory Health Certificate (CHC) for advance yatra registration, more than 230 doctors have been authorised in various medical centres in all 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Of these, they said 76 doctors are to be deployed in Kashmir division and 162 in Jammu division while certificates will also be issued in district hospitals, and community medical centers including health centres, NTPHC and UPHC.

“The permit to each pilgrim will be issued from the bank on the payment of Rs 150,” sources said and added that for group registration the facility has been provided for five or more pilgrims and the applications for the same will be issued by May 31.

Sources said this time track has been improved up to the holy cave to a standard size as per the directives of the Supreme Court. The Shrine Board will also provide medical facilities along both the routes at Chandanwari and another at Baltal.