The annual Amarnath Yatra concluded on Thursday with more than 4.4 lakh pilgrims offering prayers at the cave shrine in south Kashmir. The 62-day-long yatra had commenced on July 1 through the Baltal and Pahalgam routes.
According to officials, a total of 4,45,338 devotees paid obeisance to the naturally formed ice ‘Shivling’ during the pilgrimage. They said 48 people, including pilgrims and service providers, died during the course of the yatra this year and 62 suffered injuries. The deaths were due to weather-related incidents or natural causes, they added.
The number of pilgrims who undertook the yatra this year was higher than last year’s 3.65 lakh. The yatra this year remained peaceful and incident-free, the officials said.
The holy mace of Lord Shiva, popularly known as ‘Chhari Mubarak’, carried by a group of sadhus and devotees led by its custodian Mahant Deepindra Giri, arrived at the holy cave in the early hours of Thursday for day-long prayers, they said.
The group of sadhus and devotees trekked 42 kilometres from Pahalgam to reach the cave shrine with night halts at Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarani. Earlier on Tuesday (August 29), ‘Chhari Mubarak’ popularly known as the holy mace of Lord Shiva had left for Sheshnaag in the morning hours from Chandanwari in Pahalgam to mark the culmination of the Amarnath Yatra.
The Chhari Mubarak had spent the night at Chandanwar Pahalgam before heading to Sheshnaag. The rituals for the holy ‘Chhari Mubarak’ mark the culmination of the annual Amarnath Yatra.
This pilgrimage has been the best example of secularism and is like an annual festival in which local Muslims also participate actively. At Sports Stadium Poonch where the base camp was established, dozens of Muslim youths volunteered to serve the pilgrims every day.
This year, pilgrims from all over the country on Budha Amarnath Yatra visited many beautiful places in Poonch and enjoyed there. A large number of pilgrims went to visit Batilkot Lor and Gurdwara Nangali Sahib. They also enjoyed the hilly areas of Poonch by going to Than Peer, a beautiful tourist spot.
