4th batch of 6000 pilgrims leaves from Jammu
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, July 1: Over 23,000 pilgrims drawn from different parts of the country paid obeisance at Himalayan cave of Swami Amarnath Ji on third day of pilgrimage today while a fresh batch of 6461 yatris left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas here for twin base camps of Nunwan Pahalgam and Baltal in a cavalcade of 265 light and heavy vehicles early this morning under tight security arrangements.
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As per officials, 23,437 pilgrims paid obeisance at holy cave by this evening. With this, total number of pilgrims visiting the 3888 metre high cave shrine in deep Himalayas during last three days since the yatra started on June 29 has reached 51,981.
The pilgrims visited via twin tracks of Baltal and Pahalgam- Chandanwari as well as choppers to the holy cave. Today the first batch of pilgrims who had started their journey from traditional Pahalgam -Chandanwari track on July 29 reached holy cave, officials said.
The Yatris after performing darshan at cave shrine started their return journey towards Baltal base camp and Panchtarni, the last camp to holy cave on Pahalgam track.
Officials said there is huge rush in yatra area especially twin base camps as thousands of pilgrims are reaching base camps from different parts of country daily. There is total hustle and bustle in Yatra area and huge rush of pilgrims is witnessed at cave shrine also. The yatris have to wait in long queues to perform darshan, officials added.
Shashank Padha, ACD Nunwan base camp said that this year a great initiative has been taken by Department of Rural Sanitation by using a Lord Ganesha mascot to distribute biodegradable bags to Yatris at Nunwan base camp to raise awareness about sanitation and promote eco friendly practices.
Officials said the pilgrims who reached twin base camps of Baltal and Nunwan yesterday evening left for holy cave early this morning under tight security arrangements.
Meanwhile, thousands of pilgrims from different parts of the country are reaching Jammu daily. There is huge rush of yatris at Saraswati and Vaishnavi Dham as well as Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas. The Yatris are seen in long queues at Saraswati Dham and Vaishnavi Dham waiting for their registration. Hundreds of pilgrims are also seen sitting on the road side near Railway Station under open sky waiting for their turn to enter the Vaishnavi Dham in view of heavy rush there.
The Yatris who expressed their satisfaction over the arrangements made by the Government and Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) at their registration counters, however said that in view of increasing rush more tents needed to be installed at Vaishnavi Dham and Saraswati Dham to provide shelter to pilgrims and safeguard them from scorching heat.
They said though authorities have kept tanker for the disposal of pilgrims to drink water, but instead some water coolers should be installed at these places so that pilgrims can get cold and pure water to drink.
They expressed the hope that the administration and SASB authorities will look into these issues.
Raman Kumar, a pilgrim from Delhi who is visiting holy cave for 10th time, said the SASB has lot of resources at its disposal and it can easily manage such facilities for pilgrims. He said the pilgrims appreciate the steps taken by the Board for ensuring their smooth pilgrimage but some extra steps needed to be taken to tackle the rush and registration process be made easy by opening more counters instead of asking pilgrims that the quota has exhausted for the day.
Rama Devi, another pilgrim from Manali Simla said the pilgrims coming from different parts of country can’t waste days together after registration as this will affect their budget also.
Meanwhile, the fourth batch of 6441 pilgrims who left for twin base camps early this morning from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas here have reached their respective destinations by this evening where from they will leave for the cave shrine early tomorrow morning for darshan.
Among these pilgrims, 2321 left for shortest Baltal track while 4140 preferred the traditional and longest Pahalgam -Chandanwari track.
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