Over 62 thousand perform darshan at Amarnath cave in five-days

The 40-day long Amarnath yatra, which started on June 29 is picking up day-by-day with 15,813 pilgrims paying obeisance at cave shrine on fourth day of darshan on Monday.

An official spokesman said  since the beginning of the pilgrimage, 62,608  yatris have had the darshan at the holy cave situated at an altitude of 3888 metres from sea level in deep Himalayas of Kashmir Valley.

The annual pilgrimage officially commenced from Thursday when the first batch left  for the cave shrine from the twin routes of Baltal in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district and Chandanwari in southern Anantnag district. 

Sources said elaborate security arrangements have been made for the safe passage of the yatra, with sufficient security personnel being deployed en route, to foil any untoward incident. The Amarnath yatra will continue upto Sharvani Purnima – Raksha Bandhan which falls on  August 7.

Every year, thousands of devotees undertake the yatra in July and August to pay obeisance at the shrine dedicated to lord Shiva. Last year around 2.21 lakh pilgrims offered prayers at the Shrine despite disturbances in the valley after Hizbul commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces. Though, the authorities suspended the yatra for a few days after the situation turned volatile following Burhan's killing, there was no incident of stone pelting on pilgrims reported from anywhere.

Contradictory to the projections, Kashmiris, setting up an example of communal harmony, offered free meals to the pilgrims at various places including at Nigeen Club and Tourist Reception Center in Srinagar.
This year the yatra has started nine-days ahead of Burhan's first death anniversary, when security agencies apprehend trouble.