SRINAGAR: More than 30,000 pilgrims paid obeisance at the Amarnath cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas on Wednesday, taking the total number of devotees who have had ‘darshan’ of the naturally formed ice lingam so far to over one lakh, officials said. The Amarnath Yatra began on Saturday from the twin tracks — the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag and the 14-km shorter but steeper Baltal route in Ganderbal. “A total of 30,586 pilgrims performed the yatra on Wednesday and had darshan of Baba Bholenath on the fifth day of the annual yatra,” an official said. With this, the number of pilgrims who have visited the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine has now reached 1,05,282, according to the officials. They said 21,893 male pilgrims, 5,858 female pilgrims, 394 sadhus and one sadhvi were among those who paid obeisance at the cave shrine. As many as 1,991 security personnel, four transgender persons and 445 children also performed the pilgrimage. Deaths of two devotees — a sevadar from Haryana and a pilgrim from Jharkhand — have been reported during this year’s yatra so far. Both of them suffered a cardiac arrest on the Baltal route, the officials said. The 52-day pilgrimage will conclude on August 19. More than 4.5 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine last year.
