SRINAGAR: Over 12,700 pilgrims have registered themselves for the first day of the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, one of the holiest for Hindus, set to begin tomorrow in Kashmir.
“A total of 12,717 pilgrims have secured registration for the first day of Yatra (June 28) for both Pahalgam and Baltal routes,” a spokesman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), which manages the shrine affairs, said.
He said 6,567 pilgrims have registered to travel by the Baltal route while 6,150 have preferred the Pahalgam route.
The spokesman said the SASB has fixed a ceiling of 7,500 pilgrims per day per route for this year’s pilgrimage.
“This excludes pilgrims who travel by the Heliservices up to Panjtarni, whose number may vary between 1,000 and 1,400, depending upon the number of sorties undertaken during the day,” he added.
The SASB has decided not to allow any unregistered pilgrims to proceed beyond the base camps at Baltal and Pahalgam this year following high number of deaths last year.
A valid health certificate has been made mandatory for the yatris this year while only pilgrims between age of 13 years and 75 years will be allowed to perform the yatra.
