SRINAGAR : More than 4.4 lakh visitors offered prayers at the cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas during the 62-day annual Amarnath Yatra‘s conclusion on Thursday. According to officials, 4,45,338 pilgrims in all paid respects to the naturally occurring ice “Shivling” during the pilgrimage, which started on July 1 and took the Baltal and Pahalgam routes. According to them, 62 individuals were injured and 48 people, including pilgrims and support workers, perished during the yatra this year. They stated that the deaths were brought on by weather-related mishaps or other natural causes. This year, more pilgrims than the 3.65 lakh who participated in the yatra last year. The officials reported that the yatra this year was incident-free and calm. The sacred mace of Lord Shiva, also known as “Chhari Mubarak,” was brought to the sacred cave early on Thursday for a day of devotion by a group of sadhus and devotees headed by its custodian Mahant Deepindra Giri. From Pahalgam, the sadhus and pilgrims hiked 42 miles to the cave shrine, stopping for the night in Chandanwari, Sheshnag, and Panchtarani.
