Baltal, June 27: The Baltal area of Sonamarg in the Ganderbal district of central Kashmir, which is the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, is full of activity these days because the annual yatra starts in a few days.
As they do every year, hundreds of service providers, most of whom are local Kashmiris, have arrived at base camp Baltal, Dumail, and cave route to set up makeshift huts and shops for a few days. Ponywallas and Palkiwalas have also made it to Baltal and are waiting for the yatra to begin.
Officials say that more than 13,000 workers have already signed up to work at Baltal. Assistant Labour Commissioner Ganderbal Arshid Ahmad Bhat told Greater Kashmir that more than 13,000 people who transport pilgrims on ponies, pithus, and palkis during the Amarnath Yatra have registered for an extension of their services before the yearly journey to the cave shrine. He said that the department had begun the registering process at the beginning of this month.
The annual Amarnath yatra will start on July 1 from both sides of Pahalgam in South Kashmir and Baltal in the Ganderbal district in central Kashmir. Security will be very tight. The quickest way is the Baltal route in the Ganderbal district in the centre of Kashmir. From the Pahalgam base camp, it takes travellers a few days to get to the cave shrine. Those who take the Baltal road, on the other hand, can reach the cave shrine in one day and return to the Pahalgam base camp the same day.
Hundreds of people have set up tents and shops and have been eagerly waiting for Amarnath yatris to arrive. Several ponywallas and workers have also made it to Baltal, where they can be seen getting their horses ready for the yatra. Except for a few langars run by people from outside Kashmir, the only people who do good work for the Amarnath yatra are the Kashmir Muslims.
The part that the local Kashmiri Muslims have played over the years, no matter what, has been very important to the success of the yearly journey. Thousands of Kashmiri Muslims take part in the Yatra, helping tourists as workers, ponymen, and palanquin-bearers. This makes it easier for older travellers to take a palanquin up the tough path from Baltal to the cave.
Every year, hundreds of locals set up shops at the base camps of the yatra in Baltal, in the Ganderbal district of central Kashmir, and in Pahalgam, in the south of the state. They sell different things to the travellers. The Amarnath Yatra is not only a good way for locals to make money, but it also shows how well Kashmiris and tourists get along. The yearly Amarnath yatra brings millions of Hindu visitors to the Amarnath cave shrine in Kashmir. Pilgrims on the yatra have to walk through dangerous mountains to get to the cave shrine, which is 12700 ft above sea level. “The Amarnath Yatra is about to start in a few days. Horses carrying Amarnath yatris to the cave will keep us busy for more than a month. “The horses have to walk a hard path, so we have to give them new metal shoes,” said Javeed Ahmad, a ponywala in Sonamarg.
The Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (SASB) and the UT government have made a lot of security and other plans to make sure that the yearly Amarnath yatra goes smoothly and without trouble. Manoj Sinha, who is the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, is directly in charge of the yatra and all of its plans.
