Jammu and Kashmir: 'Aarti' performed inside Baba Barfani's 'Darbaar' at Amarnath Cave Shrine. Earlier on July 1, the annual Amarnath Yatra began with the first batch of pilgrims setting out from the base camp in Baltal for the cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas. The 62-day pilgrimage was flagged off by Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal, Shyambir, along with senior officials of the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board and the police, at the Baltal base camp.
Baltal, in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district, is one of the twin routes for the annual pilgrimage. The other one is the Pahalgam route in south Kashmir's Anantnag district. The pilgrims will undertake a 12-km journey from the base camp to the holy cave shrine located at an altitude of about 13,000 feet.
All arrangements for the annual pilgrimage, including those related to security, have been put in place.
Deputy Commissioner Shyambir said about 6,000 yatris arrived at the base camp. "I wish the yatra goes on smoothly. I request the yatris to carry their RFID cards," he told reporters here.
