More than 1.5 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the holy Amarnath cave shrine within the first week of the annual pilgrimage, marking a record 28 per cent increase in footfall compared to last year's Yatra.
The 57-day annual pilgrimage began on July 3 and is scheduled to conclude on August 28. Devotees are trekking to the 3,880-metre-high Himalayan shrine via the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route and the shorter 14-km Baltal route.
The Yatra started on both traditional routes — from Nunwan in Pahalgam and Baltal in Sonamarg — with pilgrims chanting religious hymns on their way to the cave shrine.
According to official figures, over 62,000 pilgrims from across the country visited the shrine in ten batches from Pahalgam and Sonamarg. The Yatris, after performing darshan, started their return journey towards their respective base camps.
While the eighth batch of over 8,100 yatris started their journey to the holy cave, the ninth batch of over 8,700 pilgrims is expected to reach the base camps later today.
With the departure of 8,700 pilgrims today, a total of around 62,000 Yatris have left Jammu for Kashmir since Friday. The authorities have put in place multi-layered security arrangements along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, the twin tracks of Baltal and Pahalgam, as well as the holy cave, for the safe and smooth conduct of the pilgrimage.
A multi-pronged security setup has been put in place in and around Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas and at the Tawi river-front where Tatkal registration of pilgrims and token distribution is underway.
Officials added “No pilgrim will be permitted to travel before their registered date.”
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Also read: One Amarnath pilgrim dies, four injured in Banihal
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