Over 4.14 lakh devotees performed Amarnath yatra this year

New Indian Express

a day ago

SRINAGAR: Over 4.14 lakh devotees performed Amarnath yatra from twin routes of Pahalgam in south Kashmir and Batal in central Kashmir this year, said Lt Governor Manoj Sinha at a felicitation ceremony held at Raj Bhawan Auditorium, here on Tuesday.
Last year, 5.1 lakh pilgrims had paid obeisance at the Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
'The enthusiasm and devotion of devotees and successful pilgrimage was a befitting reply to the enemy's design of destabilising peace in J&K UT,' the Lieutenant Governor said.
He congratulated people of J&K for making the pilgrimage a rich spiritual experience for devotees.
Sinha felicitated the officers of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), Administration, J&K Police, Army, CAPFs, BRO, service providers, medical professionals, members of Non-Governmental Organisations, and other stakeholders for the successful conduct of Amarnath Yatra this year.
'Amarnath Yatra is a confluence of humanity and faith. Every pilgrim is now a brand ambassador for Jammu Kashmir,' Sinha said.
He asked the officials to analyse and apply the experiences and lessons learned from this year's pilgrimage, and take up the works on priority for a better experience of the pilgrims in future.
This year's 38-day Amarnath yatra started on July 3. However, the authorities suspended the yatra a week before its scheduled end on August 9 on Raksha Bandhan, citing adverse weather conditions and its impact on the yatra.
Shri Amarnath Barfani Langars Organisation (SABLO), the apex body representing various Bhandara (langar) groups serving free food (langars) to pilgrims during the pilgrimage, had objected to premature suspension of the yatra saying the 'arbitrary stoppage amounts to a denial of the fundamental right to worship and is violation of spiritual customs and traditions associated with the yatra'.