Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 14: Braving the downpour, over 20,000 pilgrims drawn from twin tracks of Baltal and Nunwan Pahalgam paid obeisance at Himalayan cave of Shri Amarnath Ji on the 12th day of pilgrimage today in South Kashmir district of Anantnag.
Follow the Daily Excelsior channel on WhatsApp
Officials said that on the first Monday of Shravan month which is considered an auspicious day, 20,448 pilgrims drawn from different parts of the country paid obeisance at Himalayan cave at a height of 3880 meters.
Click here to watch video
Officials said with this the total number 2,20,511 pilgrims performed darshan in last 12 days at cave shrine. Among the 20,448 pilgrims who paid obeisance at holy cave today included 14,145 males, 5214 females, 242 children, 84 Sadhus, six Sadhvis and 757 security personnel.
They said though it rained during the day in Yatra area and holy cave, however, the pilgrimage was not disturbed. They said the yatris rush is increasing day by day with thousands of pilgrims from different parts of country are daily reporting at twin base camps for their onwards sojourn to holy cave.
The yatris were all praise for arrangements made by Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) and UT administration. The security and other arrangements are better at base camps and enroute to cave shrine and yatris don’t face any problem, said Rama Kumar, a pilgrim from Haridwar at base camp Nunwan. She was also praise for the cooperation and support rendered by locals and said that yatris don’t face any problem.
Meanwhile, Harnam Prasad, a resident of UP who has undertaken the Amarnath Ji Yatra on foot reached Pahalgam today. Harnam is walking with Kawar (sacred water pot) for past 111 days carrying a 17 kg load on his shoulders.
A fresh batch of over 6,100 pilgrims left here today for the twin base camps of the Amarnath Ji shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.
Escorted by CRPF and police personnel, the 13th batch of 6,143 pilgrims, including 4,691 men, 1,248 women and 17 children, left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here in 235 vehicles between 3:30 am and 4:00 am, the officials said.
The first pilgrim convoy, carrying 2,215 pilgrims in 100 vehicles, left for the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district, followed by the second convoy of 3,928 pilgrims in 135 vehicles who are undertaking the yatra via the 48-km traditional Pahalgam route in Anantnag district, they said.
With this, a total of 89,101 pilgrims have departed from the Jammu base camp for the Valley since July 2, when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch.
More than four lakh persons have registered online for the pilgrimage so far.
With the yatra entering its second fortnight, the rush of pilgrims from various parts of the country continued, with over 6000 fresh pilgrims having arrived in Jammu for their onward journey to Amarnath.
The 38 day long yatra which started on July 3 will culminate on August 9, the day coinciding with Sawan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan festivals
Follow our WhatsApp channel
