The 43-day long annual Amarnath yatra concluded peacefully in Kashmir on Thursday, with over three lakh pilgrims paying obeisance at the cave shrine located in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam area.
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The ‘Chhari Mubarak’ (silver mace) covered the distance of around 145 kms from Dashnami Akhara in Srinagar to reach the cave shrine, located at an altitude of 5,486 metres above sea level, on Thursday.
A final pooja, which traditionally coincides with the Raksha Bandhan festival, marked the formal conclusion of the Amarnath Yatra.
An official said 398,611 pilgrims from across the country had registered for the annual pilgrimage, but only 304,439 pilgrims performed darshan. Around 71 casualties were reported during the pilgrimage, which included 15 people who died in the flash floods.
This year, the yatra was held after a gap of three years. The pilgrimage was cut short in 2019 in the wake of the Centre’s decision to end J&K’s special constitutional position. The pilgrimage could not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.