A record number of seventy thousand pilgrims performed darshan of the holy Ice Lingam of Lord Shiva at the Shri Amarnath Ji cave shrine in the South Kashmir Himalayas during the first four days of the Yatra.
The number of 21,512 devotees who paid obeisance to Lord Shiva at the cave shrine yesterday was the highest since July 3, when the Yatra began. Additionally, the fourth batch of over 12,000 yatris departed from the Nunwan Pahalgam and Baltal base camps this morning, indicating an increasing trend in the number of pilgrims seeking darshan and proceeding to the shrine with each passing day.
Officials told News24 that yesterday, 21,512 pilgrims paid obeisance to the holy Ice Lingam at Shri Amarnath Ji’s shrine, located at an altitude of about 12,700 feet above sea level in the South Kashmir Himalayas. The number of devotees leaving from Bhagwati Nagar for onward pilgrimage has also been rising during these initial four days, according to official data.
During the first four days of pilgrimage, the yatris braved hot and humid weather and sometimes heavy rains that intermittently lashed various parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
All routes from Lakhanpur to the holy cave have been placed under a multi-tier security cover in light of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead. Security at all major base camps of Yatra has been significantly enhanced; from facial recognition systems to RFID ID cards, the entire security grid has been bolstered with AI-supported systems to ensure a safe and incident-free Yatra.
Over 350,000 pilgrims have registered online for the pilgrimage so far. Meanwhile, the death toll during the ongoing pilgrimage has reached three, primarily due to cardiac arrest and other ailments, officials reported.
