JAMMU, INDIA, June 5, 2006: Over 2,000 pilgrims have so far been registered for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, commencing on June 11, officials in Jammu said on Monday. The registration for the pilgrimage is going on at the 93 centers of Jammu and Kashmir Bank Limited across the country. While 1,200 devotees have been registered for pilgrimage via the Baltal route, 800 have been registered for the Pahalgam route, they said. The registration rush would pick up in the next two to three days, officials said, adding as many as 499,720 yatra slips have been made available at these centers. National capital territory of Delhi has a quota of 86,800 slips, which are available at 19 places while 78,000 slips are also available at four places in Gujarat, they said. In Jammu division, a total of 17,280 yatra slips have been made available. Of these, a quota of 14,400 slips have been allotted to Jammu district, 1,200 to Kathua district, 600 slips to Udhampur and 360 slips each have been allotted to Rajouri, Poonch and Doda districts, they added. In a separate news report, here, it is reported that five days before the start of the two-month long annual Amarnath pilgrimage, police on Tuesday defused a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by Islamic militants at Chandanwari, the second halting point on the Pahalgam-Amarnath route. Official sources said some locals noticed an unidentified parcel at Chandanwari on the pilgrimage route on Tuesday. They immediately informed the police.
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