First Batch of Amarnath Pilgrims Enters Kashmir Under Heavy Security Cover

The annual Amarnath Yatra, a Hindu pilgrimage to a sacred cave shrine high in the Himalayas, began this week with the first batch of pilgrims crossing from Jammu into the Kashmir valley. Nearly 5,000 pilgrims, including over 800 women, made the journey after being flagged off by the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir in Jammu early Thursday morning.

The pilgrims travelled through a tunnel connecting Jammu to the Kashmir valley and were received at Qazigund in south Kashmir by senior police and civil officials. From there, they split into two groups heading toward the twin base camps that serve as staging points before the final trek to the cave shrine.

Pilgrims can choose between two routes. The traditional route through Pahalgam is a longer, three-day trek covered on foot, by pony, or in palanquins carried by porters. The other route, via Baltal, is shorter at about 14 kilometres and lets pilgrims complete the visit and return within a single day. For the second consecutive year, helicopter services to the shrine have been suspended after authorities declared both routes no-fly zones for security reasons.

This year's security arrangement is being described as unprecedented in scale, and the yatra is considered the largest annual security operation conducted in Jammu and Kashmir. Authorities have deployed watchtowers along the routes, real-time CCTV monitoring of pilgrim convoys, and tracking systems for vehicles.

As an added layer of security, service providers such as pony operators have been issued tamper-proof identity cards embedded with QR codes. Scanning these cards instantly reveals a provider's full background details. Vehicles, pilgrims, and service providers have also been given RFID tags, a form of electronic tracking technology, to allow authorities to monitor movement along the pilgrimage routes.

This heightened vigilance comes directly in response to a terror attack last year on tourists at the Baisaran valley near Pahalgam, in which 25 tourists and one local resident were killed. That attack has pushed security agencies to rethink and strengthen protective measures for large gatherings of visitors in the region, especially during high-profile religious events like the Amarnath Yatra.

Over the coming weeks, more batches of pilgrims are expected to follow the same routes toward the cave shrine, with security forces maintaining continuous surveillance throughout the pilgrimage season. The scale of this year's precautions signals how seriously authorities are treating the safety of both pilgrims and the broader tourism economy of Kashmir.