Amidst chanting of Vedic Mantras the first batch of Amarnath pilgrims was flagged off by Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. Nirmal Singh from Yatri Niwas Bhagwati Nagar, Jammu for their onward journey to Shri Amarnath shrine on Friday morning.The first batch of 1282 pilgrims comprising 900 males, 225 females, 13 children and 144 sadhus left in 33 vehicles from the base camp Jammu.Flanked by Minister of State for Tourism, Priya Sethi and Member Parliament, Jugal Kishore, Dr. Nirmal Singh said that the State Government and Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) have made elaborate arrangements with regard to boarding and lodging, medical and other facilities enroute from Lakhanpur to Amarnath Cave for the pilgrims.
He said that special enquiry centres have also been set up by police and other agencies for providing all type of information to the pilgrims.Dr. Singh said that adequate security mechanism has been put in place to ensure the safety of the visiting pilgrims and the tourists in the state. He stressed that the concerned agencies are working in synergy to ensure adequate security and logistic arrangements are put in place during the Yatra.Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, IGP Jammu and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.