Jammu, Jul 4 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday urged unregistered pilgrims planning to undertake the annual Amarnath Yatra to postpone their journey by a few days, saying all registration slots have been booked till July 9 due to an unprecedented influx of devotees.
Officials also announced that beginning Sunday, only registered pilgrims will be permitted to proceed towards Kashmir, while unregistered devotees will be stopped at the designated checkpoints until fresh registration quotas become available.
Addressing a joint press conference here, Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar said the city has become the principal base camp for the pilgrimage, with thousands of devotees arriving every day from across the country.
The first batch of 4,822 pilgrims, flagged off by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on July 2, has already completed ‘darshan’, Kumar said, adding that the second batch comprised 3,865 pilgrims, while 4,812 pilgrims departed as part of the third batch on Saturday.
Kumar said the administration has established RFID distribution centres for pre-registered pilgrims. It is also facilitating on-the-spot (tatkal) registrations.
However, the number of daily pilgrims is regulated in accordance with Supreme Court guidelines due to the fragile topography, glacier terrain and unpredictable weather conditions along the route to the cave shrine.
Kumar said the pre-registered pilgrims are accommodated first, while the remaining daily quota, if available, is allocated for tatkal registrations.
“Over the past three days, an exceptionally large number of pilgrims have reached Jammu. The Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board and the Jammu and Kashmir administration are making every effort to accommodate as many pilgrims as possible within the permitted registration limits,” he said.
To manage the heavy rush, the administration has distributed around 12,000 tokens to devotees awaiting registration. The token system allows pilgrims to return on their allotted registration date instead of waiting in long queues.
During the intervening period, they can visit nearby religious and tourist destinations, including Vaishno Devi, Shiv Khori and other places around Jammu, Kumar said.
With registrations already full till July 9, Kumar appealed to the unregistered devotees to defer their travel by three to four days to avoid inconvenience.
“We request the pilgrims to plan their journey after July 9 so that they can obtain registration without difficulty and undertake the pilgrimage smoothly. Our objective is to ensure that no devotee faces unnecessary hardships after reaching Jammu,” he said.
The official also urged the devotees to strictly follow the advisories issued by the traffic department, the shrine board and the J-K administration.
Kumar said vehicles will be checked to verify whether passengers are registered for the Yatra. Those travelling only to Vaishno Devi or Jammu have been asked to declare their destination to avoid inconvenience during security checks.
Jammu IGP Bhim Sen Tuti said the Yatra itinerary circulated by the authorities has been prepared after taking into account years of operational experience, the prevailing security scenario, weather conditions and Supreme Court guidelines.
Announcing stricter enforcement measures, Tuti said all the unregistered pilgrims will be barred from proceeding towards Kashmir from Sunday.
“Security personnel deployed along the route will verify whether travellers are registered pilgrims. Those who are not registered should not proceed towards Kashmir, as only registered pilgrims will be allowed to continue the Yatra,” he said.
The IGP also appealed to the devotees to comply with traffic advisories specifying the timings for crossing the designated checkpoints and to cooperate with the security personnel to ensure a safe, orderly and hassle-free pilgrimage. PTI TAS ARI
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