Amarnath Yatra hit by weather, militancy, Lingam controversy

Jammu, Aug 10 (UNI) Bad weather, militant attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and controversy over the artificial 'icelingam' at the Holy Cave Shrine led to a drop of 100,000 pilgrims in the Amarnath Yatra this year, sources at the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board confirmed today.

The numbers of the pilgrims could not cross three lakhs though the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board had set the target of five lakh.

The two-month-long Amarnath Yatra concluded yesterday on the Sharavan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan) day and the final figure of the devotees, who visited the holy cave shrine in the Himalayas, was registered at 2,98,000.

Last year over four lakh pilgrims visited the shrine.

During the pilgrimage, devotees trek along a treacherous mountain path to worship the 'ice lingam' in the cave, located at an altitude of 3,800 metres in south Kashmir.

The number of pilgrims who visited and performed puja and 'darshan' of the holy cave shrine during this year's Yatra, which commenced on June 11, was very low as compared to last year.

''Yes, the number of pilgrims was less than three lakh while last year this figure had registered more than four lakh. Bad weather had badly affected the Yatra this year as for atleast seven-eight days, the Yatra had been suspended due to land slides and rain. The militant attacks also created panic among the pilgrims,'' said Deputy Executive of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board Madan Mantoo.

As against the thousands of pilgrims leaving for the cave shrine from here every morning before the militant attacks and icelingam controversy, the numbers had suddenly dropped to around 500 a day.

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