Amarnath cave’s ice stalagmite shrinking rapidly

The naturally formed ice stalagmite in the Amarnath cave shrine is melting fast, raising concerns among devotees and shrine board authorities.

Since the beginning of the pilgrimage on July 3, more than 65,000 pilgrims have already performed darshan inside the holy cave till late Monday evening. Each day, a large number of pilgrims reach Pahalgam and Baltal base camps to undertake the pilgrimage.

According to ground reports, it is the second consecutive year that a naturally formed ice stalagmite has begun melting in such a short period. The pilgrimage is scheduled to culminate on August 28, coinciding with Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan.

A devotee from Jammu who performed darshan inside the cave shrine on July 4 told The Pioneer that the ice stalagmite was fast shrinking due to the heavy influx of pilgrims in the cave area.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who is also the Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, said an overwhelming number of devotees are arriving for the Amarnath pilgrimage, including many without prior registration. He urged unregistered pilgrims to wait for their turn, noting that the number of pilgrims allowed on both routes is capped in accordance with Supreme Court guidelines and cannot be increased. The LG said the administration is making every effort to ensure a safe and smooth pilgrimage and appealed to devotees to cooperate with authorities and follow prescribed directions.

In Jammu, Inspector General of Police (IGP) BS Tuti appealed to the pilgrims not to travel to Kashmir without valid registration. The Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Ramesh Kumar, said only registered pilgrims are allowed to proceed and appealed to devotees to follow all security and traffic advisories to ensure a smooth pilgrimage.