This time during Amarnath Yatra, devotees will be able to have darshan of Baba Barfani without any crowd and jostling. Earlier, where only 50 to 60 devotees were able to stand in a queue and have darshan, the rest of the devotees used to fight among themselves in the cave to get a glimpse of Baba Barfani.
,
But now the Shrine Board has found a solution to this problem.
Ludhiana’s architect Naval prepared a structure of 5 lines
Ludhiana’s architect Naval told that he got the opportunity to serve in Baba’s cave. Being an architect, some changes have been made in the cave. Earlier, devotees used to stand in temporary lines to have darshan of Baba, due to which there was a fear of spoiling the atmosphere in the cave and people started arguing among themselves while having darshan.
Now 5 special lines have been made in the cave. These lines have been made at a considerable distance from the Shivalinga of Baba Bhole Shankar, so that more than 100 devotees can easily have darshan of Baba at one time. A platform has been prepared to ensure that there is no heat in the cave.
Today the officials of SAIBO also gave the devotees a digital tour of the new cave on the screen. There are some other minor changes too, which keep happening every year. Today in Ludhiana, all those Bhandara organizations of India were called, which organize Bhandara on the Shri Amarnath Yatra route. SAIBO officials have discussed many important issues.
President of Shri Amarnath Bhandara Organization SAIBO said – Preparations start from today
Giving information, President of Shri Amarnath Bhandara Organization SAIBO, Rajan Kapoor said that preparations for the yatra have started from today. Today more than 150 Bhandara organizers have come. Some Bhandara organizers have gone to Prayagraj.
Invitation letters from the Shrine Board will reach all the Bhandara operators in 1 or 2 days. The Bhandara organizers have several major demands, many of which have been resolved and many remain pending.
There is a meeting of SAIBO with the Shrine Board next month, in which many important decisions will be taken. Till now the most important demand is for police verification and medical.
All doctors should be allowed to do medical work, so that more and more devotees come to have darshan of Bhole Baba. Devotees have to face a lot of trouble in getting registered.
Police verification is a big hurdle for service workers
The problem of police verification is that of the servicemen. The Shrine Board should understand that if SAIBO has given it in writing that we are taking our sevadars on their responsibility. We will have the complete records of the service providers, but still we have to go through the hassle of verification.
There are strong security arrangements for the journey. The Shrine Board has been told that the registration process in banks is very lax, hence more and more online registrations should be opened. Although registration has started on the spot, pilgrims are still facing many problems. Chairman Rajan Kapoor said that this time changes have been made in the cave, which is also good.
Earlier there were two lines in the cave. But now keeping in mind the convenience of the pilgrims, the Shrine Board has prepared 5 lines permanently, so that even if the number of pilgrims suddenly increases by 4 to 5 thousand, there is no crowd or stampede in the cave.
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board member KK Sharma said…
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board member KK Sharma said that better facilities will be provided to the pilgrims during the Amarnath Yatra. We are getting full support from the Governor of Kashmir. Daily meetings of officials are also going on regarding the yatra.
Making changes to the cave is a good move. The roads near the cave are being widened. KK Sharma said that once upon a time I had got the service of decorating the cave with flowers, at that time I had carried a generator and a bulb on my horse. We decorated the cave with flowers with one bulb on all night. Whatever practical problems arise in the cave are being solved immediately.
Traveling age 13 to 70 years
According to the government order, Indian citizens between the age of 13 to 70 years can undertake Amarnath Yatra. The process of getting the medical certificate required for the journey is underway.
How will the registration be done – Registration can be done both online and offline. For online registration, you can log in to the official website of the Shrine Board.
If you want to register through mobile application then you will have to download Shri Amarnathji Yatra App. Whereas, offline registration can be done from Punjab National Bank, SBI, Yes Bank and Jammu and Kashmir Bank.
How to reach: Two routes to travel: Pahalgam Route: It takes 3 days to reach the cave through this route, but this route is easy. There is no steep climb in the journey. The first stop from Pahalgam is Chandanwadi. It is 16 km away from the base camp. The climb starts from here.
After climbing three kilometers the journey reaches Pissu Top. From here the journey on foot reaches Sheshnag in the evening. This journey is of about 9 km. Next day, travelers go to Panchtarni from Sheshnag. It is about 14 km from Sheshnag. The cave remains only 6 km from Panchtarni.
Baltal Route: If time is short, then you can go through Baltal route for Baba Amarnath darshan. It involves climbing only 14 km, but it is very steep, hence the elderly face difficulty on this route. There are narrow roads and dangerous turns on this route.
Preparations are being done according to 7 lakh passengers Last time more than 5 lakh devotees had come. This time 7 lakh passengers are expected to arrive. A lot of arrangements are also being made for the journey.
There will be arrangements for food, halt and health checkup on the entire route. Camps equipped with oxygen booths, ICU beds, X-rays, sonography machines and liquid oxygen plants will be built like before.
what things to keep in mind Carry medical certificate, 4 passport size photographs, Aadhar card, RFID card, travel application form with you during the journey. In terms of physical fitness, practice walking 4 to 5 kilometers every day.
Do breathing yoga like pranayam and exercises. Keep a bag of woolen clothes, raincoat, tracking stick, water bottle and essential medicines with you during the journey.
What is Amarnath Dham and its importance?
Amarnath Dham is a holy cave situated in the lap of Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir, which is the most sacred place of Hindus.
- It is believed that Lord Shiva is present in the form of an ice-lingam i.e. Shivalinga of ice in a holy cave located at Amarnath. Because Shivlinga is made of ice, it is also called ‘Baba Barfani’.
- The sacred cave is surrounded by glaciers and snowy mountains. This cave remains covered with snow for most of the year except for a few days in summer. It remains open for pilgrims to visit only during those days of summer.
- The special thing is that every year an ice Shivalinga is formed naturally in this cave. The ice Shivalinga is formed by the dripping of water drops from a crack in the ceiling of the cave. Due to extreme cold, water freezes and takes the shape of ice Shivalinga.
- This is the only Shivalinga in the world, which increases and decreases depending on the light of the moon. This Shivalinga is completed on the full moon day of Shravan Shukla Paksha and after that it reduces significantly in size till the following Amavasya. This happens every year.
- Every year lakhs of devotees visit the holy cave of Amarnath to have the darshan of this ice Shivalinga.
- Two small ice Shivalingas are formed on the left side of the ice Shivalinga, they are considered to be the symbols of Mother Parvati and Lord Ganesha.
- The length of the holy cave is 19 meters, width is 16 meters and height is 11 meters.
Where is the holy cave of Amarnath located?
Amarnath cave is located on Amarnath mountain at a height of more than 17 thousand feet in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Amarnath cave is in South Kashmir, 141 km from Srinagar. This cave is situated in a narrow valley at the far end of the Lidder valley. It is 46-48 km from Pahalgam and 14-16 km from Baltal.
The cave is situated at an altitude of 3,888 meters above sea level. It can be reached only on foot or by pony.
Pilgrims reach here by passing through a steep, winding mountain path at a distance of 46-48 km from Pahalgam or 14-16 km from Baltal.
What are the stories related to Amarnath cave?
- According to the story related to Amarnath cave, once Mother Parvati asked Lord Shiva the reason for his immortality, on which Bholenath asked her to listen to the Amar Katha.
- Parvati ji agreed to listen to the immortal story. For this he started searching for a place where no one else could hear the secret of becoming immortal. Finally he reached Amarnath cave.
- Before reaching Amarnath cave, Lord Shiva left Nandi at Pahalgam, the moon at Chandanwadi, the snake on the banks of Sheshnag lake, Ganesha at Mahagun mountain and the five elements (earth, water, air, fire and sky) at Panchtarni.
- After reaching Amarnath cave with Parvati, Lord Shiva took Samadhi. He then ordered Kalagni to destroy every living thing around the cave, so that no one else could hear the immortal story.
- After this, Lord Shiva told the story of immortality to Parvati, but a pair of pigeons also heard this story and became immortal. Even today many devotees claim to have seen a pair of pigeons in the Amarnath cave. The survival of these pigeons in such a high and cold area is surprising.
- Finally, Shiva and Parvati appeared in the Amarnath cave in the form of Lingam made of ice, which is still formed naturally and is visited by devotees.
When was Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board formed?
For a long time, the family members of Buta Malik, the Pandits of Dashnami Akhara and the priest Sabha Mattan were the traditional guardians of this pilgrimage site.
In 2000, the Farooq Abdullah government of Jammu and Kashmir formed the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, with the Governor as its head, to facilitate the visit. Malik’s family and Hindu organizations were removed from the Shrine Board.
When does Amarnath Yatra take place
Amarnath Yatra usually takes place during July–August, when the Hindu holy month of Saavan falls.
Initially the pilgrimage was conducted for 15 days or a month. In 2004, the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board decided to organize the pilgrimage for about 2 months.
For example, in 1995 the Amarnath Yatra lasted for 20 days. The yatra lasted for 60 days from 2004 to 2009. In subsequent years the journey lasted for 40 to 60 days.
In 2019, this yatra was to start from July 1 and continue till August 15, but was canceled a few days before the removal of Article 370 citing security reasons.
The number of Amarnath pilgrims has been increasing in the last few years. From thousands in the 1990s, lakhs of devotees visited Amarnath in the next few years. In 2011, a record 6.34 lakh devotees had visited Amarnath.
What is the old and new route of Amarnath Yatra?
The route of Amarnath Yatra has been changing with time. With the construction of roads in this area, travel routes have also changed. Now there are two routes to visit Amarnath.
One route starts from Pahalgam, which is about 46-48 kilometers long. It takes 5 days to travel through this route.
The other route starts from Baltal, from where the distance of the cave is 14-16 kilometers, but due to the steep climb, it is not possible for everyone to reach it, the journey through this route takes 1-2 days.
There have been 36 terrorist attacks on Amarnath Yatra.
- The first threat to Amarnath pilgrims was given in 1993 by the Pakistan-based Harkat-ul-Ansar terrorist organization.
- The first terrorist attack on Amarnath Yatra took place in 2000. Of these, 32 people died, of which 21 were pilgrims.
- In 2001, 13 people were killed in a grenade attack by terrorists on a pilgrim camp.
- In 2002, 11 pilgrims were killed in two terrorist attacks. In 2017, 8 pilgrims were killed in firing by terrorists.
- In 2017, the government had told the Lok Sabha that in the 27 years from 1990 to 2017, there were 36 terrorist attacks on the Amarnath Yatra, in which 53 pilgrims died, while 167 were injured.
