777 perform darshan
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 6: Even as 777 more pilgrims performed darshan of the holy Ice-Shivlingam in the cave shrine today, no fresh batch of pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here today for the Amarnath pilgrimage to the south Kashmir Himalayas.
Official reports said that a total number of 777 pilgrims performed darshan today and 305 of them returned while 172 pilgrims left the Baltal base camp for their onward journey to the cave shrine.
However, there was no onward pilgrimage from the Pahalgam base camp today and hence a total of 172 pilgrims only proceeded for darshan at the cave shrine.
Meanwhile, no fresh batch of pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp today for the onward journey towards Kashmir valley as Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on August 2 had appealed to the Amarnath pilgrims to visit the cave shrine before August 5 in view of a forecast of inclement weather and more rains.
The 43-day annual pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine had commenced on June 30 on the twin routes — the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag and the 14-km shorter Baltal route in Ganderbal. It is scheduled to end on August 11 on the occasion of “Shravan Purnima” coinciding with “Raksha Bandhan”.
The number of devotees intending to undertake the yatra witnessed a substantial decline over the last week due to the premature melting of the naturally formed Ice-shivling at the cave shrine.
“Over three lakh devotees from across the country have had Baba’s darshan. Because of the rising temperatures, Baba does not have that form and the nature is also not supporting it.
“There has been heavy rainfall in many areas. I would like to request the devotees across the country, who are yet to have darshan, to come before August 5 as more rains are predicted after that,” the LG had said.
Fifteen Amarnath pilgrims were killed and 55 other had injured in flash floods due to heavy rains near the cave shrine on July 8.
Meanwhile, a fresh batch of 360 pilgrims, including 145 women and 19 children, left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in a fleet of 12 vehicles for the Buddha Amarnath shrine in Poonch district.
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