Amarnath Pilgrimage Continues Peacefully Amid Heavy Rush: Officials

SRINAGAR: A total of 21,109 pilgrims offered prayers at the holy Amarnath cave shrine on Day 3 of the annual yatra, the highest single-day number recorded so far, taking the overall count to 47,972 in three days, Daily Excelsior reported.

Officials told Daily Excelsior that the yatra is progressing smoothly from both the Baltal and Chandanwari routes amid favourable weather conditions. Of the 21,109 pilgrims who paid obeisance on July 5, there were 16,159 men, 3,921 women, 226 children, 250 sadhus, 29 sadhvis, three transgender persons, and 521 security personnel.

On July 3, 12,348 pilgrims performed darshan, followed by 14,515 on July 4, and 21,109 on July 5.

Of the total on Day 3, 12,209 pilgrims used the Baltal route while 10,900 took the traditional Pahalgam track. Most pilgrims returning via the Baltal route reached back to the base camp by evening.

At the Jammu base, 6,979 fresh pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar camp on July 6 in two convoys between 3:30 am and 4:05 am. The group included 5,196 men, 1,427 women, 24 children, 331 sadhus and sadhvis, and one transgender pilgrim.

Of these, 4,226 pilgrims headed towards the 48-kilometre-long traditional Pahalgam route in 161 vehicles, while 2,753 took the shorter 14-kilometre Baltal track in 151 vehicles.

With this latest batch, 24,528 pilgrims have departed from Jammu for the Valley since the yatra was flagged off by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on July 3.

Officials added that more pilgrims are arriving directly at Nunwan and Baltal, and heavy footfall continues at the on-spot registration centres in Jammu. Over 3.5 lakh pilgrims have registered online so far.

The Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board, security forces, and the administration have made arrangements including 34 accommodation centres and RFID tagging. Twelve counters have been set up for on-the-spot registration.