SRINAGAR: The 55-day long annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine concluded on Tuesday on Shravan Purnima. Not a single untoward incident took place this year, despite the ongoing disturbances in Kashmir. Local residents made sure no pilgrims were harmed.
The mace of Lord Shiva arrived at the 3,880 metre-high cave, after a night halt at Panjtarni.
Mahant Deependra Giri, accompanied by a large number of sadhus, carried the mace or ‘Charri Mubarak' and offered pooja at the shrine.
Governor N.N. Vohra, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), was scheduled to visit the cave but could not, owing to heavy rain.
The Governor lauded the good coordination among the security forces, the civil and police administrations, the local population and the Shrine Board for the smooth conduct of the yatra.
Chief Executive Officer of SASB R.K. Goyal said that over 4.5 lakh yatris paid their obeisance at the shrine. The pilgrimage commenced on July 1 from the Baltal and Nunwan base camps simultaneously.
The registration process began on June 5 through 121 designated branches of the J&K Bank, located all over the country, as against 103 outlets last year.
Mr. Goyal said mobile phone connectivity for real time communication became available through BSNL for the first time, at the initiative of the Governor.
Besides, the board also installed digital satellite phones at Sheshnag, Panjtarni and the cave.
Tight security
Over 5000 CRPF, BSF and Army personnel deployed right from Jammu to the cave, along both the Baltal and Pahalgam routes, provided tight security for the pilgrims.
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