Jammu, June 27
Undeterred by threats of possible terror attacks and natural calamity that ravaged Uttrakhand, the first batch of 3,157 Amarnath pilgrims today left for the Kashmir Valley from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas, the base camp of Amarnath Yatra in Jammu, amid tight security arrangements.

A security personnel looks as yatris leave for the Amarnath yatra in Jammu. Tribune photo

Escorted by vehicles of the police and paramilitary personnel, the pilgrims comprising 563 women, 37 teenagers and 84 sadhus left the base camp in a fleet of 96 vehicles, including 75 buses and 21 light motor vehicles, at around 5.30 am.

The batch was flagged off by Minister for Tourism Ghulam Ahmad Mir amid Vedic chants by priests. The pilgrims, especially women and children, appeared quite excited about the trip.

“This pilgrimage is the symbol of communal amity in Jammu and Kashmir where Hindu pilgrims are always welcomed by their Muslim brethren. We are hopeful that the pilgrims will complete the yatra without fear and difficulty,” Mir said after flagging off the batch at Yatri Niwas.

He said the state administration had made elaborate security arrangements at all the base camps and en route the cave shrine to make the journey safe.

The batch of pilgrims that left Yatri Niwas this morning will stay at Pahalgam and Baltal base camps in Kashmir. They will start for the Lord Amarnath cave shrine tomorrow.

The Home Ministry and other security agencies had issued a terror alert for this year’s pilgrimage.

According to the Standard Operating Procedure framed on the directions of the Supreme Court, only 15,000 yatris would be allowed to move towards the Amarnath cave shrine everyday -- 7,500 from Pahalgam and an equal number from Baltal.

Last year, more than 6 lakh pilgrims undertook the pilgrimage. Around 100 of them died of health-related problems during the yatra period. The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, which manages the pilgrimage, has made fitness certificate mandatory for pilgrims.

“We are fortunate to have embarked on the Amarnath Yatra for the second time. We pray that whatever has happened in Badrinath will not happen elsewhere. As far as the threat perception is concerned, there is nothing new in it. Such threats will not deter pilgrims from undertaking pilgrimage,” a group of pilgrims from Delhi remarked.

Kamal Kumar, a pilgrim from Jaipur remarked, “I am hopeful that the pilgrimage will be be peaceful this year. There is no fear of terror in the pilgrims’ minds.”

MLA Jammu East, Ashok Khajuria; Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Pardeep Gupta; Inspector General of Police, Jammu, Rajesh Kumar; Director Tourism Jammu Soujanya Sharma and other senior officers of the district administration and the police department were also present at the flagging-off ceremony.