Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, July 13: The unrest in Kashmir following the killing of dreaded terrorist Burhan Wani on July 8 has not dampened the spirits of the Amarnath pilgrims who continued to reach in thousands to Kashmir valley to pay obeisance at holy cave of Swami Amarnath Ji, situated at an altitude of 13,000 feet in deep Himalayas in South Kashmir district of Anantnag.
Despite facing problems after the suspension of yatra for three consecutive days from July 8 to 10 and charging of exorbitant rates by the tent owners and transporters, the yatris spirits have not been dampened and they were coming in large numbers for darshan.
According to an official spokesman, 14,952 pilgrims reached Baltal today from Jammu and other transit camps in Kashmir while 7,485 pilgrims performed darshan at holy cave by this evening.
With this, the total number of pilgrims paying obeisance at cave shrine since the 48 day long yatra started on July 2 has touched 1,45,204.
The spokesman said 6,173 pilgrims left the Baltal base camp for holy cave today while 72 pilgrims left via Nunwan-Pahalgam base camp for cave shrine.
He said 9,558 pilgrims who had returned after darshan from holy cave during last two days and were staying at Baltal were dispatched to Jammu late last night under tight security arrangements.
These yatris have reached here by this evening. However, yatris said that private transporters are charging exorbitant rates from Baltal to Jammu.
Raman Kumar, who reached here with a group of eight pilgrims, said that they were charged Rs 3000 per pilgrim from Baltal to Jammu which is not a genuine rate. He said some yatris who are stranded for days together and have run short of money are facing many problems in arranging the transport for traveling from Baltal to Jammu as there is no check of administration on the private transporters who are looting the pilgrims to mint money.
The spokesman said that 645 pilgrims are stranded at Nunwan Pahalgam base camp for last two days as the authorities could not arrange vehicles for their transportation to Jammu due to unrest in Anantnag.
He said, earlier, it was decided to send these yatris today to Jammu from Pahalgam but after fresh violence broke out in Anantnag town this morning, it was postponed.
Meanwhile, 1138 yatris were kept at Qazigund transit camp for night halt who reached there early this morning from Jammu. These yatris will be taken to Baltal base camp in wee hours tomorrow under tight security arrangements. Some of these yatris expressed their resentment for stopping them at Qazigund as they wanted to leave for Baltal base camp on the same day. However, the authorities for precautionary measures have put them at Qazigund transit camp.
Meanwhile, thousands of yatris continued to reach here from different parts of the country to leave for darshan of holy cave. Some of these were seen in long queues at registration counters while others were on way to various community halls for night shelters.
A fresh batch of 3240 pilgrims left for holy cave from Bhagwati Nagar base camp here this afternoon amid tight security. These pilgrims who left in 93 vehicles were escorted by a big contingent of security forces.
They had reached near Banihal till last reports came in.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
