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| Amidst din, yatra decline silently | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | July 31
While there is all din about the Shri Amarnath Shrine, the annual pilgrimage which took off on an unfortunate controversial note, has silently declined to near a negligible influx of pilgrims nearly 20 days ahead of its scheduled period.
The pilgrimage has witnessed an immense dip following tension over the land row with 305 pilgrims leaving for the cave shrine amid tight security today.
Official reports said that 305 devotees, including 165 male, 41 females, 3 children and 96 'sadhus' left from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in 9 vehicles.
The Amarnath land row has brought down the figure of pilgrims coming from across the country to visit the holy cave shrine situated in South Kashmir.
The Number of Amarnath pilgrims leaving for the cave shrine of Lord Shiva had declined to the season's low at 265 'yatris' yesterday. Hundreds of people have cancelled their plans for the pilgrimage, following massive protests and subsequent curfew restrictions in the winter capital city of the state. The two-month long yatra was flagged off on June 18.
Meanwhile, a major tragedy was averted on the route to the Amarnath cave shrine when security forces Thursday defused a powerful improvised explosive device (IED). The IED was detected by personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at the Wayil bypass, 27 km from here in Ganderbal district, on the Srinagar-Baltal route.
"The bomb disposal squad of the army has destroyed the IED after its timely detection," a senior police officer said. The 97 km Srinagar-Baltal route is used by the pilgrims on their way to Amarnath, the cave shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The strategic highway also connects the Ladakh region of the state with the rest of the country via the Zojilla Pass at whose foothills the Baltal base camp of the Amarnath pilgrims is located. |
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