Over 2.51 lakh pilgrims perform Amarnath darshan in first two weeks

Ganderbal: As many as 2.51 lakh pilgrims have performed darshan at the holy Amarnath cave shrine in the first fifteen days since the commencement of the annual pilgrimage on July 3, the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) informed on Thursday. According to officials, 5,110 devotees had completed the darshan by.

Ganderbal: As many as 2.51 lakh pilgrims have performed darshan at the holy Amarnath cave shrine in the first fifteen days since the commencement of the annual pilgrimage on July 3, the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) informed on Thursday.

According to officials, 5,110 devotees had completed the darshan by 2 pm on Thursday alone.

Pilgrims have been visiting the Shrine from all parts of the country and abroad since the beginning of the Yatra and have expressed great enthusiasm in undertaking this journey of faith, apart from appreciating the services and efficient management in the conduct of the Yatra.

However, due to continuous rainfall over the last two days, the pilgrimage was temporarily suspended from both Pahalgam and Baltal base camps on Thursday as a precautionary measure.

Officials cited the need for urgent repair and maintenance work on the pilgrimage routes affected by the inclement weather.

“Due to the continuous rains over the last couple of days, urgent repair and maintenance works are required to be carried out on the tracks. Therefore, it has been decided that no movement shall be allowed towards the Holy Cave from the two base camps today,” said Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Vijay Kumar Bidhuri.

The Divisional Commissioner also stated that pilgrims are allowed to descend from the Baltal base camp, provided adequate security teams are deployed.

“However, yatris who stayed at Panchtarni camp during the preceding night are being allowed to proceed down to Baltal under adequate deployment of BRO and Mountain Rescue Teams,” he said.

The pilgrimage is expected to resume tomorrow, depending on the weather conditions,” he added.