59-days Amarnath yatra concludes as Chhari Mubarak reaches cave shrine on Raksha Bandhan

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Special prayers were held at the cave shrine, which houses the naturally formed ice-shivlingam, after the arrival of the ‘Chhari Mubarak’, the holy mace of Lord Shiva, they said.

The yatra, which began on July 2 from the twin routes of Pahalgam in Anantnag district of south Kashmir and Baltal in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir, remained by and large peaceful, officials said.

Over 3.52 lakh pilgrims performed ‘darshan’ at the cave shrine, they said, adding, majority of the pilgrims preferred shorter 16-km Baltal route over the traditional 45-km Pahalgam track.

Police said 41 persons, including 30 pilgrims and four security personnel, died during this year’s pilgrimage due to various causes with cardiac arrest accounting for most of the deaths. The deceased also included a ponywalla (horse owner) and a labourer, the police said.

After the ‘puja’ and ‘visarjan’ ceremonies at the bank of river Lidder in Pahalgam next week, ‘Chhari Mubarak’ will return to its permanent abode at Dashnami Akhara.