Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of pilgrims for the annual Amarnath Yatra from the Bhagwati Nagar camp here early on Friday morning.
Amid multi-layer security, the first batch of more than 3,400 pilgrims left for the twin base camps in Kashmir to undertake the onward journey to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Lord Shiva in the south Kashmir Himalayas.
The pilgrims were escorted by CRPF troopers with area domination being done by the Army and police on the highway.
The 62-day-long pilgrimage will commence from Kashmir on Saturday on the twin tracks of the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district.
As many as 3.5 lakh pilgrims have already registered for the Yatra so far and the number is expected to increase, officials said.
Jammu Deputy Commissioner Avny Lavasa said 33 accommodation centres have been set up in Jammu while Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags will be issued at the registration centres.
Five counters have been established for the tatkal registration of the pilgrims at Vaishnavi Dham, Mahajan Sabha, Panchayat Ghar and two at Geeta Bhawan and Ram Mandir for the registration of saints.
Getting an RFID tag is mandatory, the official said.
"The Amarnath Yatra started from Jammu today with the flagging off ceremony by the lieutenant governor. The first batch of pilgrims left for Amarnath," BJP leader Devender Singh Rana told reporters here.
He said the administration has made arrangements for the best facilities for the smooth conduct of the yatra.
"We have come from Nagpur and this is our first pilgrimage to Amarnath. We are a group of 19 people. We have made it a point to be among the first to have darshan of ice lingam in the cave shrine," Susheel Kumar told PTI.
Another person, N K Mishra, said that he was undertaking the yatra for the ninth time.
"Since I realised that Lord Shiva is the supreme consciousness of this universe, I feel a kind of solace after visiting Amarnath," said Mishra, who hails from Uttar Pradesh.
Guddi Choudhary of Kolkata said she had promised that should take her in-laws on the Amarnath pilgrimage.
"I am fulfilling my promise. My father-in-law and mother-in-law are with me. Although the Covid situation had prevented their pilgrimage, today I am happy to do it," she said.
