Early Times Report
JAMMU, July 31: As the number of pilgrims visiting the holy Amarnath cave in south Kashmir Himalayas continues to decrease with the passage of every day, the yatra may not cross the three lakh mark this year.
The yatra started showing a downward trend after the Kashmir unrest. Less then 2,000 pilgrims were now visiting the holy cave shrine daily. "The trend shows that the yatra may get limited to 2.5 lakh this year," official sources said. Though elaborate security arrangements had been made en route the cave shrine, the pilgrims' number did not pick up after the Kashmir unrest, the sources added.
The 48-day yatra, which began on July 2, would come to an end on Raksha Bandhan eve on August 18. 6.35 lakh people visited the shine in 2011, 6.21 lakh in 2012, 3.54 in 2013, 3.73 in 2014 and 3.52 in 2015.
It may be mentioned that in the first 23 days of the yatra, over 2 lakh pilgrims visited the cave shrine this year, but in 2015, their number had crossed the 2 lakh mark in the first 14 days only. This number was achieved in just 13 days in 2013.
Over 1 lakh pilgrims visited the cave shrine in just seven days this year.
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