The annual Amarnath Yatra opens for advance registration
A significant number of people showed up to certain bank branches here on Monday to register for the yearly pilgrimage to Amarnath in order to get a permit.
The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) announced that the 52-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-meter-high cave shrine in south Kashmir would begin on June 29 and end on August 19.
There are two ways to complete the journey: the conventional 48-kilometer route that passes via Pahalgam in Anantnag, south Kashmir, and the 14-kilometer, steeper Baltal route that passes through the Ganderbal region of central Kashmir.
“Ahead of time registration is now open at these bank branches. 540 PNB (Punjab National Bank) branches nationwide are participating in the activity, according to a representative engaged in the registration procedure. According to the authorities, forms for yatris are now created by the system using Aadhaar authentication, as opposed to the manual process used in 2022.
Prospective pilgrims to Amarnath, who had been waiting in line since early in the morning to register, were greeted by the specially dedicated PNB branch in Rehari, which opened this morning decorated with flowers and bunting.
“We want to go to the cave shrine as part of the first group of pilgrims. We’ve been added to the list. We are having a happy time right now,” Janipur resident Suman Devi said.
At the Sunday meeting of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), which was presided over by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the pilgrimage schedule was set.
According to the authorities, the yatra will start simultaneously from both routes. Additionally, the shrine board will make it possible for devotees all over the world to watch live morning and nightly “aarti” (prayers).
The board, which also provides the service on its website, has chosen 542 bank branches nationwide as locations for pilgrim registration.
No one under the age of thirteen or over 75, as well as no woman carrying a child more than six weeks pregnant, are permitted to register for the yatra, according to the organization that oversees the yearly pilgrimage.
