Surat: The Amarnath Yatra, a revered Hindu pilgrimage to the sacred Amarnath Cave in Jammu and Kashmir, is set to take place from July 3, 2025, to August 9, 2025. Thousands of devotees make the difficult journey each year to worship the naturally formed Shiva Linga at the cave. Registration for the 2025 Yatra has already begun, with pilgrims having the option to register either online through the official Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) website or offline at over 540 authorized bank branches across India.

However, the registration process has faced significant hurdles even on the second day, particularly in Surat. Over 500 devotees stood in line outside the Jammu and Kashmir Bank on Ring Road since the previous night. The situation turned frustrating when the bank announced that only 25 pilgrims would be registered on the first day, despite the previous pattern of processing 100 registrations daily. Similar issues were reported in Rajkot, where over 200 devotees were left waiting in long lines due to server problems and delays in the registration process.

Bank officials explained that the decision to limit the registrations to 25 on the first day was due to staffing shortages and technical difficulties with the server. Despite this explanation, many devotees were disappointed and upset by the delay.

Ravi Mittaliya, a devotee who had been waiting outside the bank for 17 hours, told the media, “We have been standing outside since late last night, but the bank is saying that the server is down. Nothing has happened so far.”

Another devotee alleged, “There is a quota of 100 registrations for the bank, with 100 for Baltal and 100 for Pahalgam. People have been sitting in line since last night, and some have been here since 4 am. This is a complete injustice. We want to ask the bank officials what they will do with the remaining 75 registrations—whether they will give them to the poor, sell them, or do something inappropriate.”

Many of the pilgrims, despite the intense heat, were reluctant to leave their spots and even brought food and drinks to wait outside the bank. Frustrated by the delays, some started shouting religious slogans in protest.

The same situation unfolded in Rajkot, where a large crowd of applicants gathered outside Yes Bank, located at District Panchayat Chowk, for the Amarnath Yatra registration. Applicants reported waiting since midnight, but no registrations were completed, as the server was down. Despite assurances that registration would begin in an hour, the delay caused further distress. The applicants have urged the authorities to take immediate action.

With the registration process plagued by technical difficulties, devotees in Surat and Rajkot are hoping for a swift resolution to ensure a smooth process for all pilgrims. DeshGujarat