Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, June 30: Over 14,000 pilgrims drawn from different parts of the country performed darshan at holy cave of Shri Amarnath Ji on the second day of pilgrimage today which started from twin tracks of Baltal and Nunwan- Pahalgam yesterday.
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According to officials, 14, 717 pilgrims paid obeisance at naturally formed Ice Lingam in Himalayan cave at the height of 3888 meters in South Kashmir district of Anantnag.
Officials said that in last two days, 28,534 pilgrims performed darshan at cave shrine while a fresh batch of 6619 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas here for twin base camps of Nunwan –Pahalgam in South Kashmiri’s Anantnag district and Baltal in Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district in 319 vehicles under tight security arrangements early this morning.
Among them, 2761 pilgrims preferred shortest Baltal track while 3838 preferred the traditional and longest Pahalgam- Chandanwari track. All these pilgrims have reached their respective base camps by this evening wherefrom they will leave towards the holy cave early tomorrow morning under tight security measures.
Officials said among the 14,717 pilgrims who performed darshan at cave shrine by this evening, most of them came via Baltal track while rest came through choppers. Most of the pilgrims after paying their obeisance at cave shrine started their return journey to Baltal base camp, officials added.
The weather in the yatra area was partially cloudy but dry and yatra plied normally. The yatris who left via Chandanwari track from Nunwan base camp yesterday will reach holy cave tomorrow. Meanwhile, the yatris who had reached the twin base camps of Nunwan and Baltal by yesterday evening left for onwards sojourn early this morning.
There is heavy rush at Baltal and Pahalgam as thousands of pilgrims from different parts of country are daily reaching there for their onwards sojourn to holy cave. The authorities have made elaborate arrangements for pilgrims at both the base camps and enroute to holy cave.
The yatris entering the twin base camps are fully frisked to ensure their security. Over 125 free Langars have been established by philanthropist organizations at base camps and in the yatra area up to holy cave to serve the pilgrims.
Meanwhile, two Amarnath Ji pilgrims were injured in a road accident in Chandanwari today. The incident occurred when a van carrying the pilgrims to the cave shrine met with an accident, officials said.
“Today a van carrying Shri Amarnath Ji Yatris met with an accident near Chandanwari. Two pilgrims sustained serious head injuries and were promptly evacuated by the BSF to nearby hospital,’’ BSF Kashmir posted on its handle X.
“The quick response of BSF saved the precious lives of the pilgrims’’, it said.
Meanwhile, thousands of pilgrims are reaching here from different parts of the country daily since the 52-day long yatra started on June 28 from here. There is a heavy rush at Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas as well as Saraswati Dham and Vaishnavi Dham near Railway Station here where on the spot registration of the Yatris has been opened.
The Yatris were seen in long queues for their registration from early in the morning. There is such a huge rush that some pilgrims said that they have been waiting for two days but could not get their registration slips. They appealed the authorities to open more registration counters for the speedy registration of the Yatris so that they would not face inconvenience and stand in long queues for hours together in the scorching heat. They also demanded that the facilities for the pilgrims be improved in view of the increasing rush.
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