No pilgrims for Amarnath Yatra in Jammu today

Jammu: No pilgrim turned up for the Amarnath Yatra here on Monday, the last date for the passage of pilgrims from winter capital Jammu to the Kashmir Valley.

On Sunday, 19 pilgrims and 20 sadhus proceeded for the yatra from here to the Valley. Officials of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) that manages the affairs of the yatra confirmed that no pilgrim intending to use the 35-km-long track would be allowed to proceed to the cave shrine from Chandanwari yatra camp near Pahalgam towards the cave shrine after Monday morning. However, pilgrims using the north Kashmir Baltal route and those intending to avail the helicopter services for the to and fro journey from the south Kashmir route would be allowed till Aug 21, the last day of the yatra. Officials stated that no pilgrims would be allowed to proceed towards the cave shrine from Jammu after Monday. This year, the yatra started June 28 and over 23.5 lakh pilgrims have had `darshan` of the ice lingam inside the cave. The ice stalagmite structure is believed to symbolise the mythical powers of Lord Shiva. IANS