Amarnath Yatra to begin July 1, end Aug 24
By IANSTuesday, June 1, 2010
SRINAGAR - This year’s annual pilgrimage to the holy Hindu shrine of Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir will begin July 1 and end Aug 24, it was announced Tuesday.
The registration of the pilgrims for the Amarnath Yatra will begin June 5 at 121 designated branches of the Jammu and Kashmri Bank across the country, said R.K. Goyal of the shrine board.
The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) said that because of the longer distance and the travel time taken through Pahalgam, registration of pilgrims through this route will not be allowed beyond Aug 22.
The registration in respect of the Baltal route, which is much shorter, will close Aug 23.
“No yatri will be allowed to enter or proceed beyond the base camps unless he is in possession of a valid permit for a specified date and route,” Goyal said.
He said that all labourers would get photo identity cards.
The SASB is providing an accident insurance cover of Rs.1 lakh to each pilgrim free of cost.
“The SASB has decided that every pilgrim is required to provide a self-certification that he or she is fit to undertake the arduous yatra, which involves climbing upto 13,500 feet,” the SASB statement said.
