Jammu, July 23: The number of pilgrims visiting the Amarnath cave shrine in South Kashmir exceeded four lakhs, with over 12,000 yatris witnessing the naturally formed ice lingam of Lord Shiva, officials confirmed.
According to reports, 12,539 pilgrims participated in the pilgrimage that day, marking the 24th day of the annual yatra. This brings the total count of pilgrims at the 3,880-meter high cave shrine to 4,08,518.
Of these pilgrims, 7,760 were male, 2,772 female, and 175 were Sadhus, with one Sadhvi also paying obeisance. Additionally, 174 children and over 1,600 security personnel undertook the pilgrimage.
Sadly, there were two deaths reported during this year's yatra due to cardiac arrest on the Baltal route in June — one of a sevadar from Haryana and another of a pilgrim from Jharkhand.
In a separate development, more than 3,200 devotees set off from Jammu towards the Amarnath shrine in the early morning, under tight security arrangements. The 25th batch, comprising 3,281 pilgrims, departed from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp at 3 am, escorted by CRPF personnel. Of these, 1,979 chose the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route, while 1,302 opted for the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route.
Since June 28, when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch from Jammu, a total of 123,013 pilgrims have embarked on the Amarnath Yatra from the base camp. This year's pilgrimage has seen over 3.80 lakh pilgrims visit the naturally-formed ice lingam, compared to more than 450,000 pilgrims last year.
The 52-day yatra, which began on June 29 from Baltal and Pahalgam base camps in Kashmir, will conclude on August 19.
