SRINAGAR, July 4: More than two lakh devotees have paid obeisance at the cave shrine of Hindu deity Lord Shiva even as 30 people died since the pilgrimage started on June 25, officials said.
The pilgrimage to the Amarnath shrine is one of the holiest for Hindus, who visit the cave to worship the Shivlingam or an ice stalagmite in the cave.
Hindu devotees brave cold weather, including rains and snow, to reach the shrine situated at 3880 metres above sea level in Kashmir Himalayas.
“Body of a man was found in a tent near the holy shrine this morning. It has been kept in the medical camp for identification,” a police spokesman said.
Another pilgrim Yash Pal, of Punjab, fell ill last evening and was rushed to Sheshnag medical camp along the Pahalgam route, he said. Pal was declared brought dead.
Later today Sarju Ram (58) from Bihar and Mumbai resident Shri Sankesh (70) died of cardiac arrest at Brarimarg today, while Ugash Kumar (36) and Ramesh Veer Lal Sharma (in his 40’s) – both from Uttar Pradesh, breathed their last yesterday at Sangam top and the holy cave respectively, police said.
Most of the pilgrims have died due to cardiac arrest, police said.
The pilgrimage or yatra is going on smoothly from twin tracks of Baltal in Ganderbal district and Pahalgam in Anantnag, with a fresh batch of 3,163 pilgrims leaving for Kashmir from Jammu, the state’s winter capital, on Wednesday.
This year authorities are expecting more than half a million Amarnath pilgrims.
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