Farooq tantary CNI

The offline registration for the upcoming annual Amarnath Yatra began with enthusiastic pilgrims making a beeline outside the designated bank branches here on Tuesday, hoping to get an opportunity to be part of the first batch to visit the revered shrine.

The 38-day pilgrimage is scheduled to begin on July 3 from the twin routes — the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district and 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district.

The yatra will culminate on August 9, coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan festival.

Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), which manages the annual pilgrimage, has designated a total of 540 bank branches across the country for advance registration of the pilgrims, in addition to the online facility for registration on its website which started on Monday.

According to the board, no one below the age of 13 or above 75 . CNI