No let up in enthusiasm, thousands still reaching Jammu for Yatra

Enthusiastic pilgrims at Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas on Saturday. —Excelsior/Rakesh
Enthusiastic pilgrims at Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas on Saturday. —Excelsior/Rakesh

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, July 9: The cloud burst near holy cave shrine of Amarnath in South Kashmir Himalayas has failed to dampen the enthusiasm of pilgrims as still thousands of devotees of ‘Baba Burfani’ are reaching Jammu on daily basis for the holy Yatra.
“We have heard of the natural calamity that struck the Yatra route on yesterday evening and claimed 16 lives, following which the Yatra was suspended. We are a group of 30 people from Lucknow. We will not return without performing darshan of the Bholay Baba. Moreover, Yatra has only been suspended and not cancelled. As soon as the Yatra restarts, we will go for darshan of holy Ice Lingam,” said Akshay, a pilgrim from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
Another pilgrim from Lucknow, Abhay said that happened yesterday evening was a natural calamity and no one has control over it. “We are devotees of ‘Bholay Baba’ and such natural calamity cannot dampen our spirit. We have buffer time. Without paying obeisance to ‘Bholay Baba’, we are not going back home. Till the Yatra resumes, we will go to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra or other shrines of Jammu,” he added.
Amid chanting of ‘Bum Bum Bholay’, Sonu of Prayagraj (UP) said, “We were waiting for this holy Yatra for past 2 years but due to Covid pandemic, Yatra could not be organized. This time we will surely have darshan of ‘Bholay Baba’ and we are ready to wait for few days for the commencement of the suspended Yatra. We have no fear of cloud burst.”
“Death is imminent, so why to fear of death. No natural calamity can prevent us from performing darshan of ‘Bholay Baba’. We will wait for the Yatra to restart and will return home only after having darshan of holy Ice Lingam. Unfortunately, if the Yatra could not be restarted, we will come again next year,” said Shiv Charan, a pilgrim from Madhya Pradesh.
Pardeep, another pilgrim from Lucknow, who along with scores of other devotees reached Jammu for the Yatra, said, “We had already planned for the Yatra, so, despite listening news of cloud burst and resultant suspension of the Yatra, we could not stop ourselves from travelling to Jammu. We have done registration of the Yatra and will returned back only after having darshan of ‘Bholay Baba’.”