Devotees chanted religious hymns and performed worship at the holy Amarnath Cave situated in south Kashmir’s mountains on Wednesday as the annual pilgrimage concluded on the occasion of Shravan Purnima.
Even as the 55-day yatra recorded lowest number of pilgrims in past three years, the conclusion was on a positive note with lowest number of deaths and no incident of violence. The concluding puja was performed amid inclement weather in presence of a handful of devotees.
A spokesman of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) said that 3.54 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at the holy cave, ensconced in a range of Himalayan mountains at a height of 3,880 meters above sea level in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. This is the lowest number of pilgrims in the past three years. Sources said that a bevy of factors was responsible for restricted arrival of pilgrims including the impact of natural calamity that hit a similar yatra in Uttarakhand in June. The upsurge in militant activities in Kashmir, threat perception promoted by the security forces and the aftermath of killing of four civilians in Gool pocket of Ramban district followed by communal violence in Kishtwar resulted into lower arrivals.
As many as of 6.21 lakh pilgrims had performed Amarnath Yatra in 2011 while 6.35 lakh of them paid obeisance at the cave shrine last year. The devotees trek longer distances from two routes in Pahalgam and Sonamarg to have a glimpse of naturally formed ice stalagmite, considered as the representation of the power of lord Shiva. This year the yatra continued for 55 days since June 28.
The yatra faced several halts due to inclement weather and blockade of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway due to law and order issues.