Number of Amaranath yatris dip to 885

Jammu, Jul 8: The number of Amarnath yatris leaving daily for the holy cave shrine of Lord Shiva today reduced to three-figure, first time during the pilgrimage this year, with only 885 devotees proceeding for the darshan of ice 'lingam' in south Kashmir.

''A batch of 995 pilgrims, including 167 women, 13 children and 101 sadhus, left for Amarnath shrine in 20 buses and five Light Motor Vehicles from Bhagwati nagar base camp at 0500 hrs,'' an official spokesman said.

The two-month-long pilgrimage from Amarnath shine, which had commenced from Jammu on June 17, was not affected by the continued curfew restrictions since July 1 but the number of yatris has distinctly reduced.

As per sources, thousands of pilgrims have cancelled their trip following the agitation on Amarnath land row in Jammu and Kashmir.

Civil administration had imposed curfew restrictions in the winter capital on July 1 and some other towns of the region after massive protests against the government's decision to revoke land diversion in favour of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

Since its commencement, the pilgrimage was suspended many times due to heavy rush of pilgrims at Baltal and Pahalgam base camps and bad weather.

UNI