Amarnath yatra comes to an end

The 45-day annual Hindu pilgrimage to the Himalayan shrine of Amarnath ended on Saturday after the traditional puja inside the shrine.

The Shravan Purnima, which coincides with Raksha Bandhan festival, witnessed religious fervour with the arrival at the cave shrine situated at a height of 3,880 metres after a night halt at Panjtarni.

The chief Mahant, Deependra Giri, accompanied by a large number of sadhus, carried the holy Mace of Lord Shiva, known as Charri Mubarak, to the cave shrine and offered puja.

Over 6.39 lakh pilgrims have traveled to the cave shrine this year for a darshan.

Governor N N Vohra, who is chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, while expressing satisfaction over the smooth conduct of this year's yatra, complimented all the concerned departments of the state government, army, paramilitary, police and all other organisations for making the yatra a satisfying experience for thousands of pilgrims.

R K Goyal, chief executive officer of the SASB, informed that over 6.35 lakh yatris paid their obeisance at the cave shrine during this year's pilgrimage, which had commenced on June 29 simultaneously from the Baltal and Nunwan base camps.

Goyal expressed regret about the fact that 107 yatris lost their lives on the pilgrimage due to medical reasons including cardiac arrest and pulmonary failure. 

He stated that the shrine board had provided all required financial help and logistical support for the medical treatment of those injured, for the transportation of dead bodies to various parts of the country and in arranging evacuation, wherever required.