|
Travel
Sites |
Registration for Amarnath Yatra begins
Jammu:
Hundreds of Hindus queued up to register for the annual pilgrimage,
Amarnath Yatra, on the first day of registration, which began here yesterday.
The annual pilgrimage to the hilltop cave shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva,
the Hindu god of destruction, formally begins on June 11. The registration
of pilgrims has been entrusted with the Jammu and Kashmir Bank. While
the state authorities said over 400,000 devotees were expected to perform
the pilgrimage this year. "There are 86 centres all over the State where
the registration is going on. But in Jammu, this is the only centre where
we will register at least 10, 400 pilgrims. Total target for registration
is over 400,000," said Dev Singh, senior official, Jammu and Kashmir Bank.
Security has been beefed up for the two-month long pilgrimage following
a spurt in militant attacks in the region and also considering the fact
that militants have attacked the annual pilgrimage several times in last
16 years. In 2002, eight pilgrims were killed in an attack on Nunwan camp
in Pahalgam. The pilgrimage leads devotees through rain-swollen streams
and past a glacier-fed lake to the cave where a "Shivling", an ice stalagmite
believed to be a phallic symbol representing the regenerative powers of
the Lord Shiva, is worshiped. Amaranth stands at a height of nearly 12,500
feet (3,888 metres) above sea level, 141 kilometres from the State's capital,
Srinagar.
-May 30, 2006
|
Window
on India |
Tourist
offices
in India
|
News
Links |