SRINAGAR, JAMMU/KASHMIR, August 22, 2023 (The Wire): Amid a rapid decline in the footfall of pilgrims and the complete melting of the ice Shiva Lingam in the cave shrine, authorities in Kashmir have suspended the Amarnath Yatra reportedly due to urgent repairs that have been taken up even as the annual pilgrimage is officially still on. “Due to the considerable reduction in the flow of pilgrims and the urgent repairs and maintenance of the Yatra tracks at vulnerable stretches being undertaken by the Border Roads Organisation, movement of pilgrims on both tracks leading to the Holy Cave is not advisable,” the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, the nodal body responsible for organizing the pilgrimage, said in a statement. The sacred Hindu pilgrimage, which started on July 1 this year, was planned to be the longest in history, with officials expecting more than half a million pilgrims to pay obeisance at the cave shrine located in the high mountains of south Kashmir.

Initially, the number of Hindu devotees who paid obeisance was in five figures, with even the official spokesperson issuing daily bulletins about the attendance recorded at the cave shrine. However, by August, the number of pilgrims started to dwindle, with only 984 pilgrims leaving Jammu base camp to perform the pilgrimage on August 2 from both Chandanwari and Baltal routes to the shrine. On Monday, August 21, the number came down further to just 362, with no pilgrim opting to undertake the pilgrimage from the Pahalgam route, the longest among the twin routes leading to the cave shrine which is located at an altitude of 12,755 feet in south Kashmir’s Lidder Valley. “To everyone’s dismay, the ice Shivalingam in the cave shrine has melted completely — much earlier (in July) as compared to previous years — because of hot weather,” according to a report.

https://thewire.in/government/amarnath-yatra-suspended-for-urgent-repairs-after-number-of-pilgrims-falls-dramatic

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