Amarnath yatra starts off on a slow note

The pilgrims’ journey to Amarnath started on a slow note on Friday, when only around 4,500 made it to the cave.

The pilgrims’ journey to Amarnath started on a slow note on Friday, when only around 4,500 made it to the cave.

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The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), which drew flak from the Supreme Court after around 130 pilgrims died last year, has clamped down on unregistered pilgrims.

Around 12,000 unregistered and unscheduled pilgrims were returned on the first day of the yatra.

“I have come seven times before without registration. Earlier, a card would be issued in Jammu and that would serve as registration,” said Shubash Kumar, a priest who is neither registered, nor carrying a medical certificate.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra, who is chairman of the SASB, could not make it to the shrine due to bad weather.