Safety personnel stand guard as the primary batch of pilgrims leaves for the Baba Budha Amarnath Yatra 2023, at Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu, on August 18, 2023.
| Photograph Credit score: PTI
The annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas will stay briefly suspended from August 23 in view of lowered pilgrim circulation and monitor restoration works, an official spokesman mentioned on Sunday.
Nonetheless, the Chari Mubarak, the holy mace of Lord Shiva, shall proceed through the normal Pahalgam route marking the fruits of the yatra on August 31, the spokesman mentioned.
Over 4.4 lakh pilgrims have thus far paid obeisance on the shrine because the graduation of the 62-day yatra from the dual tracks – conventional 48-km Pahalgam monitor in Anantnag district and shorter 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district – on July 1.
Quoting Shrine Board authorities, the spokesman mentioned, “Attributable to appreciable discount within the circulation of pilgrims and the pressing repairs and upkeep of the yatra tracks at weak stretches being undertaken by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), motion of pilgrims on each the tracks resulting in the holy cave shouldn’t be advisable”.
“Therefore, the yatra shall stay briefly suspended from each routes with impact from August 23. Chari Mubarak shall proceed through the normal Pahalgam route marking the fruits of yatra on August 31,” the spokesman mentioned.
The pilgrim motion began to say no from July 23 with the melting of the naturally shaped ice Shiv Lingam on the shrine.
A recent batch of 362 pilgrims, in the meantime, left in a convoy of 11 automobiles from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu on Sunday to affix the yatra.
All of the 362 pilgrims are heading for the Baltal base camp to undertake the yatra, they mentioned.