Jammu, July 28: Over 4.51 lakh pilgrims have participated in the ongoing Amarnath Yatra over the past 29 days, surpassing last year’s record.
Officials from the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), which manages the annual pilgrimage, announced that since the Yatra commenced on June 29, over 4.51 lakh pilgrims have had ‘Darshan’ inside the holy cave. This breaks the previous year’s record, which saw 4.45 lakh pilgrims visiting the cave shrine over the entire Yatra period.
On Saturday, around 8,000 pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine, while another batch of 1,677 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu for the Valley on Sunday.
“This is the smallest number of pilgrims traveling to the Valley since the Yatra started on June 29. Of them, 408 Yatris left at 3:35 a.m. in an escorted convoy of 24 vehicles for the north Kashmir Baltal base camp. The second escorted convoy of 1,269 Yatris left in 43 vehicles for the south Kashmir Nunwan (Pahalgam) base camp,” officials said.
Thanks to the extraordinary security arrangements made by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and J&K Police, the Yatra has been proceeding peacefully and smoothly this year.
This year’s Yatra will conclude after 52 days on August 29, coinciding with the Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan festivals.
