4 min readJammuJul 1, 2026 04:59 AM IST
First published on: Jul 1, 2026 at 04:58 AM IST
With stricter security measures in place for the Amarnath Yatra this year, pilgrims entering Jammu and Kashmir will, for the first time, be taken from Lakhanpur in Kathua district to the Bhagwati Nagar base camp under a security cover.
“Only pilgrims reaching Lakhanpur between 6 am and 8 am will be escorted to Jammu under security cover,” said Inspector General of Police for Jammu Zone, Bhim Sen Tuti. Those arriving after 8 am “will have to halt there for security reasons”, the officer said.
He explained that the move was part of efforts to make security for the yatra “even stronger than before”.
From Lakhanpur, which is the entry point to J&K from the Punjab side, pilgrims have been directed to travel only on the Jammu-Srinagar highway (NH-44), he said, adding that their movement to Kashmir through alternate routes like the Udhampur-Dhar road or the Mughal Road would not be permitted in view of security reasons. However, mini-convoys of pilgrims will operate between Udhampur and Banihal under a fixed schedule, the IGP said.
Year after Op Sindoor
The yatra comes over a year after Operation Sindoor, in which Indian defence forces attacked terror camps across the Line of Control after terrorists attacked tourists in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025. Twenty-five tourists and a local man were killed in the attack.
According to sources, there have been reports of infiltration attempts from across the border this year. There have also been encounters between security forces and militants in Kathua district last year.
From Lakhanpur to Jammu city, the International Border runs parallel to NH-44, just a few kilometres away.
Ahead of the yatra, additional security forces have been deployed and checkpoints set up at places where link roads from the side of the border meet the highway, sources said.
To ensure pilgrims’ safety, the Union Territory administration has made it mandatory for all pilgrims, including those travelling in their own vehicles, to “join designated security convoys” from Jammu. While travel during the night has been banned, traffic police have also set a cut-off time for the yatra convoys to reach the base or transit camps on the route to Pahalgam and Baltal in the Kashmir Valley.
Accommodation arrangements
This time, officials said that the administration has made elaborate arrangements for secure accommodation for around 55,000 pilgrims between Lakhanpur and Banihal in Ramban district.
“Comprehensive arrangements have been made for all pilgrims arriving in the Jammu division, including facilities for accommodation, food and sanitation, so that no pilgrim faces any inconvenience,” said Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar.
He said accommodation will be arranged in government-run lodgings, temporary shelters, and facilities set up with the support of civil society organisations. He also said langars had been set up to provide free meals, while sanitation, healthcare, security and transport arrangements had also been strengthened to ensure the seamless movement of pilgrims.
The first two batches of Amarnath pilgrims will be flagged off by J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha at Bhagwati Nagar base camp on the morning of July 2, and they will reach Pahalgam and Baltal, depending upon their chosen route to the Amarnath shrine in the Himalayas, the same evening.
The 57-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine will commence on July 3 simultaneously from the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and a shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district.
Pilgrims queue up to register for the Yatra, in Jammu on Tuesday. (PTI) 
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