Religious sentiments seem to overpower the catastrophic tales of survivors coming from Uttarakhand to Ranchi as groups of people have packed their bags for Amarnath Yatra beginning from Friday. The pilgrims are determined and seem not to be deterred with the Uttarakhand disaster.
Mahendra, a pilgrim said, “I am going to Amarnath for the 14th time. I am very happy and excited for the yatra. Even after the disaster of Uttarakhand am not nervous for my Amarnath Yatra because we know God is there and nothing can happen to us. Almighty will save us.”
Hindu pilgrims have started registering for the ancient annual pilgrimage of Amarnath Yatra to the 13,500-feet high cave shrine of lord Shiva in the Himalayas. Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) began the registration process from March 18 for this year’s yatra, which will commence on June 28, 2013 and culminate on August 21, which falls on the full moon night of the Hindu month of Shravana and coincides with the Raksha Bandhan festival.
The countdown has begun and the Jammu & Kashmir State Government finalized all arrangements for the pilgrims. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will deploy over 5,000 personnel to ensure adequate safety and security of the pilgrims. Despite militant attacks in 2006, there has been no dearth of pilgrims for the Yatra. Despite the fact that in 2011, 107 pilgrims had lost their lives, the number of Yatris or pilgrims has been growing with an average of over 400,000 people taking part in the Yatra each year. Besides, the pilgrimage has come to become a symbol of Hindu Muslim unity in the troubled Kashmir valley, with the local Muslims providing necessary support services to the pilgrims in keeping with the peaceful secular traditions of India.
Shaukat Ahmed, Branch Head Jammu and Kashmir Bank, which does the formalities of registration for the Yatra in Ranchi said, “ Even after the tragedy happened in Utrrakhand there is no drop off in the Yatri’s where as every year Yatri’s are growing. Number or registration in 2011 was 2200 from Ranchi and in 2013 there are 3300 registrations.”
He further said that age limit for Amarnath Yatra is 7 years to 65 years but the average age group of devotees was between 20 and 40 years. No pilgrim is allowed to proceed for the Yatra without proper registration. A medical certification is a must before registering as a pilgrim. They have their medical centres in all the states which issue medical permit to the yatris. The Yatra Board never compromises with the health of patients.
According to Anil a regular pilgrim “My excitement is at its peak for approaching Amarnath yatra and I am unaffected by the natural calamities haunted Kedarnath Yatris as I have an experience of 20 years of Amarnath Yatra.”