Over 35,000 Kashmiri Muslims associated with Amarnath Yatra showcasing the Union Territory’s inclusive tradition

While the 43-day long annual Amarnath Yatra commenced formally amid tight security from the traditional base camps of Nunwan (Pahalgam) and Baltal (Sonmarg) on Thursday, more than 35,000 local Muslims are as usual engaged with different arrangements and services of the pilgrimage.

Officials of Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA), besides Tourism and Revenue departments of the Union Territory government, revealed to INDIA NARRATIVE that the first batch of the pilgrims, comprising 15,000 devotees, had darshan and attended prayers at the Amarnath cave-shrine on Thursday. "On day one today, yatra operated from both tracks-- Pahalgam and Baltal. The helicopter services too operated smoothly as the weather remained pleasant", a senior officer asserted. According to him more than 35,000 Kashmiri Muslims were currently associated with different arrangements and services to the pilgrimage.

Most of the service providers, estimated to be around 20,000, are pony owners from Anantnag, Kulgam and Kishtwar districts. Others include palanquin operators, private and government transporters, authorised vendors and shopkeepers, hoteliers, tent providers as also a large number of the employees from the government's Tourism, Revenue, Health, Telecommunication, Police, PDA, Power Development and other departments.

Significantly four days before the commencement of the pilgrimage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his weekly broadcast that the local residents were associated with the yatra "with the same enthusiasm and devotion as that among the devotees".

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