(This is Part-II of the three part series on Notes From The Ground. Part-I can be read here).
It’s not easy to spot Amarnath pilgrims in Pahalgam. Fortified, it resembles a garrison unit. Even the locals pale into insignificance.
The Fisheries Park on the roadside is among the few places which are open to the public in Pahalgam.
A group of young men are sitting by the riverbank. Among them, 28-year-old Pahloo rolls a marijuana joint as he and his four friends, two locals and two from Maharashtra’s Pune, wait for him to finish. The friends from Pune were here for the Amarnath pilgrimage and have come back from Sonamarg to Pahalgam to spend some time with their local friends.
“If there had been work, I wouldn’t be sitting here smoking weed,” laments Pahloo, who only identifies himself by his last name.
A resident of Pahalgam, Pahloo used to sell shawls at Baisaran valley before the deadly April 22, 2025, attack which killed nearly 26 people, mostly tourists, and forced closure of nearly 50 destinations including the lush green meadow of Baisaran in Kashmir. Since then, they have had no work, he and his friend Lone said.
Following the April 22 attack in Pahalgam this year, the forests, markets, and alleys of Pahalgam are being fortified by strengthening the forces’ numbers.
This year’s Yatra is said to be the most heavily guarded, as the centre deployed 42,000 more troops to Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier Experiences Different, say Pilgrims
As the group of friends spend time, one of them, Sachin Deshpande, a 26-year-old freelance event manager, who has been to Amarnath Yatra twice before in 2023 and 2024, recalls his earlier experiences.
“I used to roam till 12:30 AM around Pahalgam. I remember visiting the temple of Gaurishankar late at night where devotees were singing bhajans and dancing. This year, our freedom is restricted,” says Deshpande.
Visibly disturbed by the restrictions, he adds, “A human is not made to be confined. When a human is confined, he does things, which are not beneficial for anybody.”
Deshpande and his friend Sai Deshmukh have been asked by the authorities at Shri Amarnath Shrine Board to return to their accommodation by 9:00 PM.
Deshmukh is a 24-year-old website designer from Vishrantwadi, Pune. He says his family didn’t allow him to visit Kashmir in the first place.
“However, I wanted to come badly, so that when I marry and have kids, I could tell them that their father visited this place just one month after the brutal attack,” Deshmukh says, as he giggles.
“We are not afraid. Because it is not people who are bad, but the system,” says the website designer.
He feels safe, he says. But he has questions. “There is so much security here, even we people were frisked intensely and questioned. How would the attackers be able to infiltrate?” he wonders.
Deshpande and Deshmukh met a year before at Spiti valley during their vacations. Since then, the two have travelled together to different places and have future travel plans as well.
While Deshpande has travelled to 17 places in India, Deshmukh is only starting to check his travel bucket list. He has so far checked five places including Kashmir.
“But this place feels something different,” says Deshmukh.
“Ha! Ha!, yes, Kashmir is a distinct place compared to other places in the country,” remarks Lone, a slim guy with deep brown eyes, wavy hair, and a thick beard.
The two friends from Pune have closely experienced Kashmir’s tight security.
After missing their train to Anantnag, they spent their night at a pilgrims’ camp in Banihal. The next day they boarded the train and reached the Anantnag station.
“Our hearts skipped a beat, when at the Anantnag station, a cop grabbed us. But that was to only escort us to the cab destined for Pahalgam,” says Deshmukh, giggling again.
The cab they boarded was a local cab and not the one registered to transport pilgrims. “We were stopped three times from Anantnag to Pahalgam,” Deshmukh said.
The experience of Kashmir, or Kashmir during Amarnath Yatra, had more to unravel. When Deshpande, Deshmukh, and their friend Lone were strolling through the Pahalgam market, a speeding military vehicle almost ran over them.
“Not just us, but almost every pedestrian was in danger of being run over by them. Some security personnel were hanging behind the vehicles, whistling continuously and gesturing with their batons,” Deshmukh says.
“They are here for security, but they act like they want to scare people,” the website designer observed.
He said, if something similar happens in Pune, thousands of people would gather, block the road, forcing the higher authorities and ministers to intervene and take action against the armed personnel.
When Omar Abdullah was appointed the Union Territory’s maiden Chief Minister, he requested the security officials to avoid aggressive gestures and green corridors. But he has also, many times admitted that he has no control over them.
“It’s like a king’s rule here. Listen to us and all will be good for you,” remarks Deshmukh.
Confined to the Yatri Camp
The tight restrictions for this year’s pilgrimage have ruined the planned trip of many people including pilgrims and non-pilgrims.
Six men from north India’s Haryana are enjoying fresh air as they walk on the footpath in the market.
“We reached Pahalgam today, and will be leaving for the holy cave tomorrow at dawn,” says Yashpal Gupta, the group’s leader. He has been coming to Kashmir for the past nine years, he says.
“The weather is good here, and the atmosphere looks secure as well. But our freedom is restricted,” Gupta says as his friends second him.
During his visit to Kashmir in the past, Gupta says he never witnessed something like this.
Gupta and his 15 friends, all married men, had decided to come for the pilgrimage this year and to take leisure in Kashmir’s beauty.
“But our trip is ruined. We don’t have any freedom,” Rajinder, another man from the group exclaims.
The group reached Kashmir on July 9 and was kept at Yatri base camp in Anantnag for two days with no permission to move out.
“Is baar camp se bahar hi nahi jaane de rahey they, tight security ki pareshani rahi (This time, we were not allowed to go out of the camp. The tight security vexed us),” he says.
Earlier, Gupta says, he would roam freely and buy what he needed from the market. However, this year, they were given two meals inside the camp in Anantnag and weren’t allowed to move outside the camp.
“When the convoy will come tomorrow morning, only then you can leave, the security forces at the camp told us yesterday,” said Yashpal.
Yet, they were a little relieved after two days. They are allowed to roam the market in Pahalgam, they say.
“There is no dearth of facilities at the Anantnag camp but there is no freedom,” the group says.
Yashpal is now leading his group towards Fisheries Park. “We are told that popular spots are still closed for visitors here. We are married men and came for both the pilgrimage and enjoyment as well, but the strict measures are taking away our leisure,” Yashpal says.
Back at home, Gupta had bragged to his friends about the scenery of Pahalgam, promising them that he would show them the beauty, but “we are not able to roam freely.”
This time, there is less snow on these mountains as well, Gupta observes.
“I wanted to show all the places to my friends, that’s why we applied for the permit for the Pahalgam route,” says Gupta.
Besides restrictions on their freedom, Gupta is also concerned about the stopping of civilian traffic along the highway.
“We saw many cars being stopped when our convoy passed. It would take normal people a lot of time to reach their destinations,” he says.
The group has booked a cab from Pahalgam to Chandanwari, and will be leaving at 4:00 in the morning after a one-night stay in a private hotel in Pahalgam. “Then we will walk all the way from Chandanwari to the holy cave,” the group said.
Fewer Tents, Pithus & Ponys
This year, they (administration) provided permissions to fewer local Kashmiris for pegging tents inside the Nunwan Base Camp, making many of the pilgrims stay in hotels, says Sameer who runs a 12-room hotel in one of the hamlets in Pahalgam.
“Three of my rooms are booked, I hope it will be houseful till late evening today,” says Sameer as he watches a cricket match between England and India on his phone.
After the April attack which killed at least 26 people, mostly tourists in Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow, 90% of bookings were cancelled across Kashmir.
Tourism has long been a lifeline for Kashmir, contributing an estimated 7% to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), with stakeholders arguing it plays a larger role by fueling local spending and market stability.
Last year, the region saw a record 2.36 crore tourist visits, including 65,000 foreign tourists, with 5.12 lakh Amarnath pilgrims and 94.56 lakh Vaishno Devi visitors driving religious tourism.
Yet, this year’s fortified Amarnath Yatra, following a deadly April attack, threatens to unravel these gains, as restrictions choke the region’s economy and frustrate locals, pilgrims, and tourists alike.
The tourism season, which was thriving this year, was cut short following the attack, impacting severely the players associated with tourism.
I continue to walk and a rare sight catches my attention. Around half-a-dozen men sit quietly on the footpath, looking visibly worried.
Two of them sit in big wicker baskets meant to carry pilgrims.
These men are from Nepal and came here for work as pithus (men who carry pilgrims in baskets strapped to their back). However, they have been denied permission to go up the Amarnath route, they tell me.
“We went from Nepal to Kedarnath, and carried pilgrims there, however, the continuous rains in Kedarnath rendered us workless there, so we came to Kashmir on Jairam’s recommendation,” says Shrikanth, the oldest of them.
Jairam is also from Nepal and has been carrying Amarnath pilgrims for four years.
“I suggested we go to Kashmir and said we will earn good money here. However, the authorities are demanding Adhaar cards or verification certificates from Nepal police,” Jairam says.
They said their belongings including a jacket which had their money - around Rs 18,000 in it - was stolen at Jammu railway station.
“We have reached here today; we don’t have money to go back or a SIM card to call our family or friends back home. We feel helpless,” the Nepalis say.
A local, 48-year-old Abdul Rashid, overhearing our conversation, comes forward and offers them work, meals, and accommodation.
“I will pay these people Rs 600 a day, meals, and accommodation at the Gurduwara, so they can collect money to return to their home,” says Rashid.
Rashid can’t keep them at his home amid the prevailing security situation in Pahalgam. He explains, “Yesterday also, an announcement was made in our local masjid asking people to get their tenants registered again at the police station.”
Rashid believes the Nepalis won’t be allowed to go up on the track to the shrine.
“The horsemen belonging to the nine villages of Pahalgam and from other areas, around 300 of them, were denied permissions to take pilgrims to the cave,” Rashid says.
Ghulam Wani, a pony owner and Abid, a vendor confirmed Rashid’s account.
“Some horsemen were denied permissions on the suspicion that they have militant links, some were denied because they had tourist fares on that fateful day (22 April), some were denied because they had FIRs lodged against them, and some were told that their relatives had been militants in past,” Ghulam Wani, Abid, Pahloo, Lone, Rashid, one village head, and three other pony owners tell me.
Most of the horsemen belong to Lidroo village, they tell me.
Horsemen earned decent money from the pilgrimage, but this year, most of them have not been allowed to go, while those who are up there, around 18,000 of them, are reporting that the majority of pilgrims don’t hire them.
“Previous years, one man took at least three horses with him, that added to his income, but this year, only one horse is allowed per man,” said Farooq, a horseman, who sent his brother to the cave this year.
Hundred kilograms of fodder for horses is usually sold for Rs 4000. However, if someone needs to buy fodder along the way to the cave, he will be required to pay double the amount, Farooq tells me.
“Going with only one horse is not so beneficial, as the maximum one can earn is perhaps somewhere between Rs 12000-20000. And if we deduct expenses from it, only some money remains,” says Farooq as he cleans his newly purchased Baloch breed.
Adhaar Cards Mandatory for Pilgrims
As I continue my walk, a group of 12-men put their luggage on the road and rest.
Among them are two friends, Paras and Manish Bharatwaj, both 36-year-old. Paras, a wedding photographer from Amritsar is worried about his friend Bharatwaj.
“He filled the form, his medical is done, all the papers and formalities are complete, but the officials at the SASB didn’t give him an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) card, citing unavailability of his Aadhaar card,” Paras tells me.
While this is Paras’ first visit, his friend Bharatwaj has been here for the pilgrimage before in 2023.
“That time, I showed my election card and was permitted to carry on with the pilgrimage,” says Bharatwaj, as he hangs that year’s card around his neck to avoid being questioned.
Bharatwaj looks sleepy, he is not able to speak properly. “He is on medications prescribed by the rehabilitation centre he was in,” says Paras.
Despite not being able to stand properly, Bharatwaj takes out forms from his bag and shows all the completed formalities.
Station House Officer, Pahalgam police station, Peer Gulzar said he has no idea about the presence of Nepalis in the market and that the police have no say in providing RFID cards.
Gulzar said that the Nepalis and Bharatwaj should revisit the Nunwan Base Camp or the Pahalgam Club and speak to the SASB officials.
Umair, who heads the eKYC department and provides RFID cards to the pilgrims, says the authorities have made possession of the Adhaar card mandatory this year.
“If someone has an issue with their fingerprints or any other challenge, we can use their other documents to proceed. However, they must be able to answer why they don’t have their Adhaar card,” said Umair.
About the labourers, Umair said, they don’t provide cards to people desiring to work along the route. “They need to visit the Nunwan Base Camp for that,” he said.
(Part 3 to follow)
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