More than 3.52 lakh devotees performed the ongoing Amarnath Yatra so far as another batch of 2,896 pilgrims left Jammu for the Valley on Friday, officials said.
Officials added that the number of Yatris performing the Shri Amarnath ji Yatra during the last 21 days since it started on July 3, has crossed the expected figure of 3.50 lakh.“Another batch of 2,896 Yatris left Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu on Friday in two escorted convoys for the two base camps.”
“First escorted convoy of 42 vehicles carrying 790 Yatris left at 3:30 a.m. for Baltal base camp while the second convoy of 75 vehicles carrying 2,106 Yatris left at 4:18 a.m. for Pahalgam base camp,” officials said.
‘Chhari Mubarak’ (Lord Shiva’s Holy Mace) was taken to the historic Shankaracharya Temple in Srinagar for customary Puja on Thursday by a group of Sadhus led by Mahant Deependra Giri.
The Puja at Shankaracharya Temple is held each year on the occasion of ‘Haryali-Amavasya’ (Shravan Amavasya) as per the age-old customs.
On Friday, the Chhari Mubarak will be taken to the ‘Sharika Bhawani’ Temple atop the Hari Parvat hillock in Srinagar for customary Puja.
Chhari Mubarak will start its final journey towards the cave shrine from Dashnami Akhara temple in Srinagar on August 4 and will reach the holy cave shrine on August 9, marking the official conclusion of the Yatra.
Authorities have made extensive multi-tier security arrangements for this year’s Amarnath Yatra, as this takes place after the cowardly attack of April 22 in which Pakistan-backed terrorists killed 26 civilians after segregating them based on faith in the Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam.
Additional 180 companies of Central Armed Police Forces have been brought in to augment the existing strength of the Army, BSF, CRPF, SSB and the local police.
The Army has deployed more than 8,000 special commandos to secure the passage of the pilgrims this year.
The Yatra started on July 3 and will end after 38 days on August 9, coinciding with Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan.
Devotees approach the holy cave shrine situated 3,888 metres above sea level in the Kashmir Himalayas either from the traditional Pahalgam route or the shorter Baltal route.
Those using the Pahalgam route pass through Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarni to reach the cave shrine, covering a distance of 46 km on foot. This trek takes a pilgrim four days to get to the cave shrine.
Those using the shorter Baltal route have to trek 14 km to reach the cave shrine and return to the base camp the same day after having darshan.
No helicopter services are available to Yatris this year due to security reasons.
The cave shrine houses an ice stalagmite structure that wanes and waxes with the phases of the moon.
Devotees believe that the ice stalagmite structure symbolises the mythical powers of Lord Shiva.