Jammu

Offline registration for the annual Amarnath Yatra began on Wednesday, with hundreds of devotees gathering at designated registration centres in Jammu a day before Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is scheduled to flag off the first batch of pilgrims from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas base camp.

The 57-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine will commence on July 3 through the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district.

Nearly four lakh devotees have already registered online for this year's pilgrimage.

Despite overnight rain that brought pleasant weather to Jammu, enthusiastic pilgrims lined up outside registration centres from the early hours of Wednesday to obtain their passes.

On-the-spot registration for token holders started in the morning, while token distribution continued for the second consecutive day for pilgrims arriving from different parts of the country.

Registration and token distribution counters have been established along the Tawi riverfront near the Jammu Artificial Lake, Geeta Bhawan, Ram Mandir and Bhagwati Nagar.

The first batch of pilgrims will leave the Bhagwati Nagar base camp early Thursday after being flagged off by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

Among the devotees was Uttar Pradesh resident Sandhu Ram Kishan, whose distinctive appearance attracted attention. Wearing Rudraksha beads adorned with coins from different countries around his head and chest, Kishan said his attire symbolised his deep devotion to Lord Shiva.

"Without Rudra, nothing happens," Kishan told PTI, adding that he observed a 14-year 'Maun Vrat' (vow of silence) and has been undertaking the pilgrimage since 2006.

He described the Rudraksha as a source of spiritual strength and said he was visiting the shrine with the hope of seeing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath become the country's prime minister.

The registration centres echoed with chants of "Har Har Mahadev" and "Bam Bam Bhole" as devotees waited patiently for their turn.

Anushka, who arrived with five family members from Pune, said she had long dreamt of undertaking the pilgrimage after being inspired by her father, who has been visiting the shrine annually for the past decade.

"My father will turn 70 next year and may not be able to continue the Yatra for much longer. Earlier, he never allowed us to accompany him, saying it was too arduous. Now we are here and determined to complete the pilgrimage together," she said.

Neelu Sangani from Rajasthan, who travelled with her parents, said the opportunity to offer prayers at the cave shrine meant more than anything else.

Her father, Chander Shekhar, praised the arrangements made by the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board and the administration, saying the facilities enabled devotees to obtain tokens smoothly.

However, not all pilgrims were satisfied. Jitendra Giri from Uttar Pradesh expressed concern over crowd management.

"People are jostling in the queues and the barbed-wire barricades are causing inconvenience. The authorities should improve crowd management so that elderly pilgrims do not face hardships while waiting," he said.

Senior civil and police officials, including Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Minhas and Senior Superintendent of Police Joginder Singh, visited the registration centres to review arrangements and oversee crowd management.

The officials interacted with pilgrims and instructed the staff to ensure smooth registration, orderly token distribution and adequate public facilities.

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According to the Meteorological Department, Jammu received 35.8 mm of rainfall during the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Wednesday. The showers brought down the minimum temperature to 23.3 degrees Celsius, which was 2.7 degrees below the seasonal average.