SRINAGAR: With over 3,31,000 devotees already registered for the annual Shri Amarnath Yatra, the Jammu and Kashmir administration is ramping up preparations to ensure a smooth and secure pilgrimage this year. The figure was revealed during the 49th Board meeting of the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (SASB), chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhawan on Saturday.
The pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in the Himalayas is scheduled to begin on July 3 and will conclude on August 9, coinciding with the festival of Raksha Bandhan. The yatra will take place simultaneously from both traditional routes — the Pahalgam axis in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district and the Baltal axis in Ganderbal.
“Safety and well-being of the pilgrims is our top-most priority,” the Lieutenant Governor said while reviewing departmental preparedness. “We are committed to providing better facilities and amenities to ensure a hassle-free and spiritually enriching experience for all the pilgrims.”
The meeting was attended by members of the Shrine Board, including Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji Maharaj, Prof Kailash Mehra Sadhu, and former bureaucrats and domain experts, alongside top officials of the Jammu and Kashmir administration, police, and the Border Roads Organisation.
The Board reviewed the status of ongoing infrastructure projects and directed line departments to complete all works within deadlines. Key areas under review included disaster preparedness, sanitation, availability of clean water and power, medical facilities, and telecom connectivity. Special emphasis was laid on weather forecasting systems and digital management tools such as pre-paid hiring services and RFID cards for registration and movement tracking.
Given the terrain and high-altitude challenges, the Board discussed the upgradation of yatra tracks, the deployment of fire and emergency services, and the setting up of transit camps and Yatri Niwas at multiple locations. The expansion of Langar services and the role of NGOs were also reviewed, with a view to boosting capacity and inclusivity.
CEO of SASB, Dr Mandeep K. Bhandari, gave a detailed presentation on the operational readiness, informing the Board that the registration numbers this year point to a major surge in pilgrim interest post-pandemic and that all systems are being scaled accordingly.
To manage the growing scale of the pilgrimage, the SASB has rolled out enhanced online services for registration and verification, introduced RFID cards for pilgrims and service providers, and is expanding the network of Yatri Facilitation Centres. The government has also worked with telecom providers to ensure better connectivity across the high-altitude route.
This year’s arrangements also factor in enhanced insurance cover for pilgrims and support staff, a critical concern given the combination of natural hazards and large-scale movement.
Among those attending the meeting were Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary Shaleen Kabra, Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, Principal Secretary (Home) Chandraker Bharti, divisional commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir, deputy commissioners of Ganderbal and Anantnag, and senior officials from the police, BRO, and multiple UT departments.
The high-level participation and detailed review signal the importance the administration attaches to the yatra, not just from a spiritual and cultural standpoint but also in terms of crowd management, tourism economics, and inter-agency coordination.
The LG’s office indicated that final operational drills and joint briefings would be conducted later this month to ensure field-level readiness.
With the registration numbers already crossing 3.3 lakh and expected to rise further in the coming weeks, this year’s Shri Amarnath Yatra is shaping up to be one of the most significant in recent memory, both in scale and scope of preparations.
