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‘Pratham Puja’ held at Amarnath cave shrine
The 43-day yatra, which has been opened to the general public this year after a gap of two years, will formally begin on June 30 and culminate on August 11.
The first prayer (pratham puja), which marks the ceremonial beginning of the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, was held on Tuesday on the occasion of Jyestha Purnima at the holy cave shrine.
The 43-day yatra, which has been opened to the general public this year after a gap of two years, will formally begin on June 30 and culminate on August 11. Principal secretary to the Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor and chief executive officer of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Nitishwar Kumar performed the ‘pratham puja’ along with other officials.
The concept of ‘pratham puja’ was introduced by former Jammu and Kashmir governor lieutenant general SK Sinha (retd) in 2004.The officials and priests were flown in for the ceremony in helicopters.
The government has announced that the pilgrims desirous of undertaking the pilgrimage will have to furnish their Aadhaar Card. Given spike in terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and threats issued by various terror outfits, the upcoming pilgrimage is being seen as a litmus test for the government.
While 15,000 additional security forces personnel have been deployed in Kashmir in view of the killing of minorities, 400 companies of the central armed police forces are being deployed for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra.
Ahead of the commencement of the Amarnath Yatra, director general of police Dilbag Singh also chaired a high-level meeting with the officials to review the security arrangements on Tuesday.
