Over 30,000 pilgrims pay obeisance at Amarnath Cave; total number of pilgrims crosses 1 lakh
Srinagar: Over 30,000 pilgrims offered prayers at the Amarnath shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas on Wednesday, media reported.
With this, the total number of devotees who have had ‘darshan’ of the naturally formed ice lingam has surpassed one lakh during the Yatra, which began on Saturday, PTI reported citing officials.
Devotees can take two routes to the Amarnath Cave- the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag and the 14-km shorter but steeper Baltal route in Ganderbal.
The 3,880-metre-high cave shrine has now reached 1,05,282, according to the officials, according to the report.
Officials reported that 21,893 male pilgrims, 5,858 female pilgrims, 394 sadhus, and one sadhvi participated in the pilgrimage at the cave shrine, .
Further, 1,991 security personnel, four transgender persons, and 445 children also completed the journey.
Two devotees—a sevadar from Haryana and a pilgrim from Jharkhand—passed away during this year's yatra due to cardiac arrests on the Baltal route, officials confirmed.
The pilgrimage, which continues for 52 days, is scheduled to conclude on August 19.
The number of pilgrims reaching the cave shrine surpassed 4.5 lakh last year.