IN PHOTOS: The ENDURING Amarnath Yatra

The 39-day long annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath concluded on Thursday amid traditional prayers at the cave shrine.

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Jammu and Kashmir governor N N Vohra who is the chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, and Navin K Choudhary, chief executive officer, participated in the special pooja at the cave shrine, according to an official statement.

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The governor prayed for sustained peace, harmony, progress and prosperity in the state.

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

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Mahant Deependra Giri, accompanied by a large number of Sadhus, carried the holy Mace, popularly known as 'Charri Mubarak', and offered Pooja at the Shrine.

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An estimated 6.20 lakh yatris paid their obeisance at the holy cave shrine during this year's pilgrimage, which had commenced on June 25, simultaneously from the north Kashmir Baltal and south Kashmir Pahalgam routes, according to the statement.

The number of pilgrims set a new record this year.

The yatra also witnessed the highest number of pilgrim deaths due to health reasons and accidents. While 88 pilgrims died during the yatra due to medical reasons, 42 died due to accidents.

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Vohra has directed the SASB chief executive officer to immediately launch a massive post-yatra sanitation drive so that the entire area is cleaned up in the next few days.

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Expressing satisfaction over the smooth conduct of this year's yatra, despite serious constraints arising from the heavy snowfalls in the preceding winter and bad weather for several weeks before the commencement of the yatra, the governor thanked the state government, the Army, Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, the state police, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, department of posts and all other concerned organisations, and the people of the state, for their strong support in the management of the yatra.

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