Over 3.86 lakh perform Amarnath Yatra in 22 days

 July 21 (IANS) Over 3.86 lakh devotees have performed the ongoing Amarnath Yatra so far as another batch of 3,113 pilgrims left Jammu for Kashmir on Sunday. Officials said that over 3.86 lakh devotees had ‘darshan’ inside the holy cave shrine during the last 22 days since this year’s Yatra started on June 29. Over 11,000 pilgrims had darshan on Saturday. “Another batch of 3,113 Yatris left Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu in two escorted convoys for the Valley today. The first escorted convoy left at 2.56 a.m. carrying 1.153 pilgrims in 48 vehicles for the North Kashmir Baltal base camp. The second escorted convoy left at 3.41 a.m. carrying 1.960 pilgrims in 75 vehicles for the South Kashmir Nunwan (Pahalgam) base camp. Both escorted convoys are expected to reach the Valley before noon today,” officials said. The cave shrine houses an ice stalagmite structure that wanes and waxes with the phases of the moon. Devotees believe that this ice stalagmite structure symbolises the mythical powers of Lord Shiva. The cave is situated at an altitude of 3,888 metres above sea level in the Kashmir Himalayas. Devotees approach the cave shrine either from the traditional South Kashmir Pahalgam route or the North Kashmir Baltal route. The Pahalgam-Cave shrine axis is 48 km long and takes Yatris 4-5 days to reach the shrine. The Baltal-Cave shrine axis is 14 km long and takes one day for the pilgrims to have ‘darshan’ and return to the base camp. This year’s Yatra will conclude after 52 days on August 29 coinciding with Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan festivals. --IANS sq/dpb