Srinagar, Jun 19 (IANS): The J&K government on Wednesday appointed two senior officers as nodal officers for the smooth conduct of Amarnath Yatra 2024.

A government order issued on Wednesday said, "It is hereby ordered that these two officers shall be the Nodal Officers for smooth conduct of Shri AmarnathJi Yatra-2024 for the locations/axis. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Administrative Secretary, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj shall be the nodal officer for Baltal Axis and Bhupinder Kumar, IAS, Administrative Secretary, Public Works (R&B) Department for Pahalgam Axis."

"The officers shall closely monitor and liaise with all concerned agencies involved in the conduct of Shri AmarnathJi Yatra- 2024, and shall report to Chief Executive Officer, Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board on a regular basis," the order said.

This year’s 52-day-long Amarnath Yatra starts on June 29 and will conclude on August 19 coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan and Shravan Purnima festivals.

Yatris use either the shorter north Kashmir Baltal base camp route or the traditional longer south Kashmir Pahalgam route to reach the Holy cave situated 3888 metres above sea level in the Kashmir Himalayas.