Amarnath yatra crosses 2 lakh mark: 3,603 pilgrims leave Jammu to pay obedience at cave shrine

Jammu: The number of pilgrims paying obeisance at the 3,880-metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in the Lidder valley of South Kashmir Himalayas crossed the two lakh mark on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_3806923” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. News18[/caption] “On the 18th day of the yatra 7,214 pilgrims paid obeisance at the holy cave, and cumulatively since the beginning of the pilgrimage, 2,02,705 yatris have had the darshan at the holy cave”, an official spokesman said. Amid tight security, the 17th batch of 3,603 pilgrims on Sunday left Jammu for the Amarnath cave shrine. The government has put a heavy security blanket of over 35,000 to 40,000 troops, including the police, the Army, the cand the CRPF. The annual yatra began this year amid a terror threat, with intelligence reports warning of a probable attack which prompted the authorities to mobilise the “highest level” of security, including the satellite tracking system. This years’ yatra will be eight days shorter than the last years’ 48 days. It will conclude on Shravan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan) on 7 August. Situated in a narrow gorge at the farther end of the Lidder valley, the Amarnath cave shrine is 46 km from Pahalgam and 14 km from Baltal.