Chhari Mubarak returns to Panjtarni
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 26: With Chhari Mubarak of Swami Amarnath led by Mahant Deependra Giri its sole custodian paying obeisance at holy cave situated at an altitude of 3880 metres in deep Himalayas in South Kashmir district of Anantnag on the occasion of Shravan Purnima today, the two month -long yatra concluded today.
Hundreds of pilgrims and Sadhus accompanying the holy mace reached cave shrine early this morning. As the Chhari Mubarak reached the cave shrine, the ringing of quench shells reverberated the entire atmosphere. The chanting of ‘Bun-Bum Bhole’ and ‘Swami Amarnath Ki Jai’ by Sadhus and devotees also rent the air.
The Sadhus led by Mahant Deepndra Giri performed day long puja in the cave shrine after trekking a 6 kilometer long track form Panjtarni to holy cave. They took a holy dip in the sacred waters there before performing the puja -archana of Swami Amarnath Ji in a traditional way and in accordance to Vedas.
Mahant Deependra Giri told Excelsior that on the occasion of Shravan Purnima which has main significance for darshan, ‘Samohik prayers’ were held for restoration of peace and prosperity in the strife-torn J&K State that has suffered a grave loss in last three decades of turmoil.
Earlier, the holy mace left the Panjtarni at 6.15 am. It was escorted by SRDF, NDRF, MRT jawans and local police besides the two columns of army. “Entire route up to cave shrine was sanitized”, said Rohit Sharma, Camp Director, Panjtarni.
He said all precautionary measures had been taken for the security of holy mace and Sadhus to ensure that yatra concludes peacefully. After performing Puja-Archana in the cave shrine, the holy mace returned to Panjtarni where after a night halt it will leave for Pahalgam early tomorrow morning. The holy mace will have a night stay at Pahalgam and on August 28 after performing immersion ceremony in river Lidder and other rituals on the bank of river, it will return to its abode, Dashnami Akhara in Srinagar.
On the concluding day of yatra today, 421 pilgrims drawn from different parts of the country paid obeisance at the holy cave from twin tracks of Baltal and Chandanwari, said Sharma.
He said weather in the holy cave area was pleasant during the day and yatra proceeded smoothly. Majority of pilgrims after performing darshan choose to return via Baltal track and only a group of 25 Sadhus accompanying holy mace returned to Panjtarni.
However, the yatra this year remained incident free and proceeded smoothly during the entire period. Except the suspension of yatra during the initial days after the landslides and floods on Baltal track that created a havoc and resulted in the death of four pilgrims due to shooting stones near Brarimarg, the yatra was smooth during the entire period. As per reports 28 pilgrims died during this year’s yatra.
As the annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Swami Amarnathji concluded today, on Shravan Purnima, Bhupinder Kumar, Additional Chief Executive Officer of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) along with Piyush Singla, Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal, visited the cave shrine early this morning and prayed for sustained peace, harmony, progress and prosperity in the State. The Additional CEO stated that 2,85,006 lakh Yatris had paid obeisance at the holy cave during this year’s pilgrimage, which had commenced on June 28 along both Baltal and Pahalgam routes.
The Additional CEO interacted with the Camp Directors, Additional Camp Directors, Deputy Camp Directors and other officers at holy cave, Neelgrath and Baltal and reviewed the ongoing sanitation and camp cleaning initiatives being undertaken by them during the 2nd phase (from 25th to 28th August 2018) of the ongoing sanitation drive.
While expressing satisfaction over the sanitation drive taken up by the Shrine Board with the active cooperation of Anantnag and Ganderbal district administration; chief executive officers of Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) and Sonamarg Development Authority (SDA), security forces; Sub Divisional Magistrate Pahalgam and Municipal Committee Pahalgam, Additional CEO exhorted the Camp Directors, Additional Camp Directors, Deputy Camp Directors, CEOs of PDA, SDA, and the head of each involved agency to ensure that all bio-degradable and non-biodegradable wastes, including plastic wastes, are disposed off in accordance with the already approved action plan after the conclusion of the Yatra.
The Additional CEO complimented the civil and police administrations of Anantnag and Ganderbal districts, J&K Police, Central Armed Police Forces, Army, various State Government Departments and all other agencies for the smooth conduct of Yatra 2018.
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