— Photo: PTI

UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE GUN: Pilgrims undertaking the Amarnath yatra taking rest under the security cover provided by the CRPF in Jammu on Tuesday.

SRINAGAR: The "service yatra" to the Amarnath cave was kicked off by Jammu and Kashmir Governor S. K. Sinha amid tight security from Baltal, around 110 km from here, on Tuesday.

Mr. Sinha who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) had insisted on a two-month yatra. But the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed-led coalition Government did not agree to this due to security reasons. Later, they agreed to have a "service yatra" from June 21 and the official one from July 6. The Board, in accordance with the direction from High Court, has announced registration for the yatra through different branches of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank.

Amid chanting of hymns, Mr. Sinha performed the puja to start the yatra through the shortest route to the cave situated 13,500 feet above the sea level. The main route is through Pahalgam, famous picnic spot in South Kashmir which is part of the Chief Minister's constituency.

Officials, however, said that those who take part in the yatra till July 6 will be "doing this at their own risk and responsibility" as it is only meant for military and para-military forces besides those erecting tents and "langars."

The Mufti also said that officially the yatra will begin on July 6. "We are making arrangements to have a smooth and incident-free yatra which will start on July 6," Mr. Sayeed told The Hindu .

Route snowbound

However, the date for the yatra via Pahalgam is yet to be announced as the route is still snowbound in many places. Sources said that more than 5,000 devotees have had darshan at the cave in the last 10 days. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the country will be able to pay obeisance at the Amarnath shrine for a longer duration this year. The two-month-long pilgrimage will come to an end on August 19, on Raksha Bandhan day.

Mr. Sinha recently visited the base camp at Baltal and walked up to Sangam enroute the shrine to oversee the arrangements. Though no militant outfit has issued threats to disrupt the yatra, authorities are not taking any chances. Three years ago, nine pilgrims were killed in an attack. About 30,000 paramilitary soldiers and police have been deployed along the route. The routes have been checked for mines and explosives. Several checkpoints have also been set up to frisk the pilgrims.

The pilgrimage has also been dogged by problems with regard to the operating of helicopters. The Shrine Board accused the State Civil Aviation Department of creating hurdles in the use of private helicopter services. But the latter has refuted the allegation. The SASB finalised an agreement with a private operator, Jagson Airlines, earlier this month for operating three helicopters from Srinagar and Baltal to the shrine. But the Civil Aviation Department has allowed only one helicopter in view of the limited space.

Director Civil Aviation, Wing Commander J. S. Katoch, said that the Director-General of Civil Aviation had allowed the Board to operate the service but had made it clear that it should seek clearance from local authorities. "We received the application from the SASB on the evening of June 17 and the next two days were holidays. The case was taken up on June 20 and we informed the Board that it can operate only one helicopter from Baltal, for various reasons," said Wing Commander Katoch. The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation was also running two choppers to the cave.

"Indian Air Force has made it clear that we cannot have four or five choppers operating due to paucity of space at the cave shrine and the Nehru helipad. Moreover, there is no communication between the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the cave shrine to guide the air traffic which makes it necessary to allow fewer choppers," he said. Wing Commander Katoch said that the decision to allow only one chopper of the private airlines was taken in view of the safety of the passengers as the choppers have to fly without technical support.

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