Explained: What makes this year’s Amarnath Yatra different?
Every year, thousands of devotees walk across daunting mountains to Shri Amarnathji Shrine in South Kashmir to pay tribute to Lord Shiva. This cave temple houses the famous the Ice Lingam, an ice-based, devotional representation of Mahadeva. This year, the yatra will commence on June 30th after a 2-year-hiatus. While this is a happy news for thousands of devotees, there is a caveat too. Media reports suggest that there are possible threats to stop the yatra. This has necessitated the central government’s decision to use RFID tags and barcode-enabled slips. Read on to know more about these security measures by the Indian government.
What is an RFID tag?
Radio Frequency Identification—yes, that’s the full form of RFID. These are tags meant to track the location of the pilgrims 24*7. But how does it work? Well, RFID is a wireless tracking system made up of tags and readers. In this system, radio waves are used to transfer information/identity of items or persons to adjacent readers through handheld or those built into fixed positions such as poles or buildings. That’s not all though. RFID tags can store encrypted data, serial numbers, and brief explanations also!
Barcode-enabled slips
Apart from RFID tags, barcode-enabled slips will be issued to the devotees too. They will track the actual number of pilgrims travelling to and from the Amarnath cave temple. These were also issued in the last Amarnath Yatra that took place in 2019. Back then, the Amarnath Cave Shrine Board and security agencies had devised a precise plan to ensure that all pilgrims who register for the yatra would receive barcoded slips with their important information, images, and contact numbers. Only registered pilgrims with a specific code mentioned against a bar, were allowed to board the official vehicles that would transport the devotees to their camps. This, as you might have understood by now, ensured that only genuine pilgrims could travel to the shrine. The same rules will be followed this year too.
Amarnath Cave Temple and the legend surrounding it
Laced by glaciers and snowy mountains, this 40-metre high cave temple is located at a height of 3,888 metres in the Lidder Valley of Jammu & Kashmir. It is believed to be around 5,000 years old. Interestingly, the temple has been mentioned in ancient Hindu literature too. According to some, Bhrigu, the great sage, was the first to have a glimpse of the Lingam in this cave. However, it is not clear how the cave was discovered.
Legends tell us that a Muslim shepherd named Buta Malik, encountered a saint who gave him a bag of coal. It changed into gold once Malik reached home. Overwhelmed by this miracle, he returned to see the saint and ended up discovering the temple. The cave temple of Amarnath became a pilgrimage site after the villagers learned about it.