1.33 Lakh perform Yatra in two weeks

Three more yatris die, toll 20

SRINAGAR: As many as 15696 Yatris today paid obeisance at the Holy Cave Shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, taking the total to 1,33,481 Yatris in first 14 days of the annual pilgrimage while a fresh batch of 4,956 pilgrims left Jammu on Wednesday morning to perform the Yatra.

Two pilgrims died of cardiac arrest near the holy cave while another was killed in a road accident in Pulwama district, taking the death toll in this year's pilgrimage to 20.

On the 14th day of the ongoing pilgrimage, nearly 14,000 Yatris proceeded towards the Shrine on both Pahalgam and Baltal routes. 15696 Yatris paid obeisance at the Holy Cave, taking the total to 1,33,481 Yatris who have performed darshan of the Holy Shivling, an official spokesman said.

A fresh batch of 4,956 pilgrims this morning left the base camp in Jammu for the holy shrine under tight security arrangements.

The 11th batch of pilgrims, including 1,454 women and 97 'sadhus' (seers), left in a convoy of 161 vehicles from Bhagwati Nagar here for the twin base camps of Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal district in the wee hours, officials said.

While 2,677 pilgrims, including 632 women and 97 Sadhus opted for the traditional 36-km Pahalgam track, 2,279 pilgrims (including 822 women) are performing the yatra through the shorter 12-km Baltal route, they said.

Governor NN Vohra, Chairman, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, today reviewed the conduct and pace of the ongoing Yatra in a meeting attended by Umang Narula, Chief Executive Officer, SASB, Bhupinder Kumar, Additional CEO, SASB and other officers of the Shrine Board.

The officials said the yatra was progressing smoothly from both the routes of Pahalgam and Baltal.

The pilgrimage, however, is likely to get affected by inclement weather as the meteorological department has predicted 'widespread to fairly widespread rains' during the next four days in most parts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Governor Vohra has reiterated his directions that all concerned agencies must be kept in state of readiness and status of ground conditions should be reviewed on a daily basis to immediately address any arising problem.

Meanwhile, two pilgrims died of cardiac arrest near the holy cave shrine while another was killed in a road accident in Pulwama district, taking the death toll in this year's pilgrimage to 20.

A private vehicle, carrying Amarnath pilgrims, collided with a school bus at Padgampora in the Awantipora area, resulting in death of one woman pilgrim, a police official said.

He said she was identified as Savita, a resident of Jaipur.

A pilgrim, identified as Mahinder Pal, fell unconscious last night at Kali Mata track and later died, the official said.

G Koteshwara, a 70-year-old pilgrim from Andhra Pradesh, died due to cardiac arrest at the holy cave yesterday, he said.

With these, the death toll in this year's pilgrimage -- which began on June 28 -- has gone up to 20.

The 60-day Amaranth yatra will conclude on Shravan Purnima' (Raksha Bandhan) on August 26.