Amarnath yatra will be suspended from next Wednesday, a week before the annual pilgrimage was meant to be concluded. The decision was taken due to fewer arrivals of yatris, an official spokesman said.
The shrine board is headed by Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha. Over 4 lakh yatris have visited the holy cave this year. The officials, though, were expecting higher numbers given logistics and security arrangements made for the pilgrimage.
Over the last several years, Amarnath yatra has been witnessing fewer footfalls. Compared to over 6 lakh pilgrims who visited cave shrine in 2012, the number has come down to over 3 lakh in 2022 and 4.4 lakh this year.
This year has the biggest ever time window — 62 days. But the number of pilgrims started dwindling just after two weeks of pilgrimage.
While the yatra has been effectively curtailed, officials say the holy mace (Cahari Mubarak) will be carried to the cave shrine on August 31, which will mark the culmination of the yatra.
“The yatra will remain temporarily suspended from August 23 in view of the reduced pilgrim flow and track restoration work,” said an official spokesman. This means no person can undertake yatra from Wednesday onwards.
The government had made massive security arrangements for the yatra. Besides an overwhelming existing security structure deployed in Kashmir Valley, over 300 additional companies of paramilitary forces were brought in for the yatra security.
On an average, dozens of security forces personnel are deployed for the security of each yatri. From Jammu to base camps — in Pahalgam and Baltal, 350 to 400 km long road is manned by troops from all security agencies.
Once a major source of cultural and social integration, the yatra is now restricted to security convoys. No vehicle is allowed to move when yatra convoys pass.
As part of security measures to keep the track of the moment of yatris, every pilgrim was allotted a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag for the last two years.
While a security is important, many believe it should not overshadow the yatra which represents a long journey of syncretic culture in Kashmir.