20,000 perform darshan at holy cave on day 2 of Yatra

4800 leave for twin base camps

Avtar Bhat

JAMMU, July 4: On the second day of darshan of 57-day- long Shri Amarnath Ji yatra, about 20,000 pilgrims drawn from different parts of the country paid obeisance naturally formed Ice Lingam to the 3888 meters high Himalyan cave from twin tracks of Baltal and Chandanwari in South Kashmir district of Anantnag today.

As per reports, 20,145 yatris performed darshan at holy cave by this evening on the second day of yatra. With this, a total of 32,485 pilgrims paid obeisance at holy cave during two days. On the first day of darshan on Friday, 12,340 pilgrims visited the holy cave.

The weather remained dry but partially cloudy along the yatra route today and the pilgirmage plied smoothly along both the tracks.

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Meanwhile, two pilgrims died near holy cave during last two days due to cardiac arrest.

As per reports one pilgrim namely Parvin Chhaganlal Parvan, son of Chhaganlal of Vibhapar Jamnagar Ahmedabad Gujarat with ID Number 338046 and Adhaar Number 719322828985 fell unconscious at Kalimata point. He was immediately rushed to Medical Post at Lower holy cave by a team of Joint Rescue operation. But after the examination, the doctors declared him dead. After completing initial formalities, the dead body was shifted to Police Post Baltal for other formalities.

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Another pilgrim namely Arun Kumar, 52, son of Shiv Pal of Gali Number 3 New Bahadur Chand Colony, Hansi road Karnal, Haryana suffered breathlessness yesterday and he too was rushed to holy cave Medical Post where doctors tried to revive him but in vain. He was also declared dead and his body was shifted to Police Post Baltal after initial formalities.

Reports said there is huge rush of pilgrims in the yatra area and thousands of Yatris are camping at Nandiwan, Pahalgam, Chandanwari, Sheshnag, Panchtarni and Baltal on their way to the holy cave.

Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) and UT administration have made elaborate arrangements for the pilgrims enroute for their smooth and hassle-free yatra. Besides, the base hospitals at Nandiwan and Baltal medical posts have been established on both tracks enroute up to holy cave. Moreover, foolproof security arrangements have also been put in place to deal with any untoward act.

Reports said the pilgrims who performed darshan at holy cave yesterday have started their return journey towards their respective base camps.

Meanwhile, the third batch of 4,812 pilgrims left Bhagwati Nagar base camp here in a cavalcade of 259 vehicles on Saturday to join the annual Amarnath pilgrimage in Kashmir Himalayas, officials said. There were 966 women in this latest batch.

Officials said the third batch, which had 244 Sadhus and 157 Sadhvis, left in 126 vehicles from Bhagwati Nagar base camp between 3 am and 3.30 am amid tight security.

A total of 2,771 pilgrims, including 542 women and six children, were headed for Pahalgam base camp, while the remaining, of whom 424 were women and five were children, took the Baltal route.

With the latest departure, 13,499 pilgrims have embarked for the pilgrimage from Jammu since July 2 when Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch.

The unabated rush of yatris continued with thousands of pilgrims reaching here from different modes of transport from other parts of country to embark on holy pilgrimage daily. The pilgrims having lot of enthusiasm are singing and dancing. Chanting ‘Bam Bam Bhole’ and ‘Har Har Mahadev’ the pilgrims said they have no fear in their mind as Barfani Baba is their savior.

Huge rush of unregistered pilgrims was witnessed in front of registration and token centers at Tawi riverfront where pilgrims reach early in the morning to remain in queues for their registration in this scorching heat. This shows the devotion of the pilgrims towards the sacred yatra.

The 57-day-long yatra will culminate on Sawan Purnima coinciding with Raksha Bandhan festival falling on August 28.