Excelsior Correspondent
—Excelsior/Rakesh
JAMMU, July 28: The annual Buda Amarnath pilgrimage will be inaugurated on July 31 and the first batch of pilgrims will leave to holy shrine on August 1 from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas here.
This was announced by VHP provincial co-secretary, Nishu Gupta while talking to reporters here today. He said the last batch of pilgrims will leave for holy shrine from Jammu on August 7 and on August the Chhari Mubarak (holy mace) will leave for darshan of Buda Amarnath.
The Yatra will continue up to festival of Raksha Bandhan coinciding with Sawan Purnima on August 10, he said, adding this year all the Hindu shrines enroute to Poonch have been included with the Buda Amarnath yatra and the pilgrims will also perform darshan of these shrines.
He said on return from Buda Amarnath, the pilgrims will have darshan of Shiv Khori shrine also.
Mr Gupta said the Bajrang Dal accepted the terrorists challenge who warned the Amarnath pilgrims in 1996 and its 50,000 volunteers from across the country left for the yatra of holy cave that year.
He said likewise the terrorists had created fear psychosis in Poonch and Rajouri districts and minorities from far-flung areas of these twin districts had started migration. But with the start of holy Buda Amarnath yatra the minorities confidence was restored and migration stopped.
He said Buda Amarnath yatra was also stared by BD in 2005 at national level which is continuously running for last nine years now. Thousands of pilgrims every year across the country perform darshan at the holy shrine, he added .
He said this year the Buda Amarnath pilgrims will also perform darshan of historical temple of Mata Mangla Devi in Sunderbani, Rajouri.
VHP leaders Raghuvir Singh, Ambika Thakur, Kapil Kohli, Ishan Sharma and others were present in press conference.
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