According to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, the ice lingam inside the cave has fully formed this year. There had been apprehensions that the ice lingam may not take form completely owing to global warming and shifting of glaciers.
A police case has been filed against three persons in connection with the appearance of ice in the shape of a 'lingam' in the renowned Trimbakeshwar temple in Maharashtra's Nashik in June last year, which a probe committee has now proclaimed as a hoax.
The registration at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan in Katra resumed hours after the stampede incident, in which 12 people were killed and several others were left injured.
Drones are being used for aerial security of the Amarnath base camp at Bhagwati Nagar area of Jammu city for the first time while at least 20,000 security personnel have been deployed along the two routes.
Ten pilgrims died en route to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas since Monday night, taking the toll during this year's pilgrimage to 61, officials said.
Rediff.com presents some scintillating photographs of the ongoing Lord Amarnath yatra.
Five pilgrims, including two women, died enroute the 3,880 metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, taking the toll during the ongoing yatra to six, police said on Wednesday.
The annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath began on Saturday with over 7,000 pilgrims trekking the 17-km northern Baltel route.
The state government has alerted the Army, air force and other agencies to meet any eventuality in light of the inclement weather along the twin mountain treks, north Kashmir Baltel and south Kashmir Pahalgam to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath.
Eleven persons, including 10 devotees, have died due to medical reasons during the ongoing pilgrimage to Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
Six pilgrims died en route to the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, taking the death toll during the pilgrimage to 30 this year, officials said.
The traditional Pahalgam route for the annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in Kashmir will open on July 9, an official of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board said in Srinagar on Monday.
The 37-day annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath will commence from June 25, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board which manages the yatra said.
The two-month old Amarnath pilgrimage concluded on Wednesday with a group of devotees carrying the mace of Lord Shiva to the 3,880 metre high cave shrine in South Kashmir.
The crisis over the start date of the Amarnath Yatra deepened with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad showing no signs of relenting and a top VHP leader on Tuesday stating that Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti will lead a contingent of devotees to the cave shrine on June 3. The board has left sadhus all across India angry by disobeying him, he added.
A group of 213 Hindu pilgrims from Pakistan on Sunday paid obeisance at the Vaishnodevi cave shrine in Trikuta hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Five more pilgrims died en route to the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, taking the toll during this years's pilgrimage to 83, officials said on Monday.
The annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath will begin on June 28 this year and it will be spread over 55 days. The yatra schedule was announced after a meeting of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board chaired by SASB Chairman and Governor N N Vohra.
One terrorist was also killed in the gunfight.
An email threatening to target the cave shrine of Vaishno Devi was purportedly sent by the banned terror outfit Lashker-e-Toiba to a hotelier in Katra to avenge the execution of 26/11 terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab, the police said on Monday.
Over 1.38 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas since the pilgrimage started on June 10.
Heavy rains were lashing Pahalgam and Baltal sections of Amarnath routes and tracks have become slippery.
Two more devotees died en route 3,880-mt high Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir, taking the death toll since the commencement of the annual pilgrimage to 24, police said on Tuesday.
Police said the tragedy was caused by loosening of the stones by recent rains and high velocity winds near the holy cave.
Yet another controversy dogged this year's edition of Amarnath pilgrimage with the state government and the shrine board locking horns over the issue of helicopter services for the affluent pilgrims.
the Mahant said the entire Hindu community was in a state of shock over the media reports suggesting that this year the Shivalingam (phallic symbol of Lord Shiva) had been raised manually.
The 'charri mubarak', carried by around 500 saints led by its custodian, Mahant Deepinder Giri, reached the shrine, 143 km from Srinagar, around 0845 IST.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has set aside 40 hectares of forest land for use by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board during the two month long annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine as per the agreement reached between the government panel and the Amarnath Yatra Sangarash Samiti which spearheaded two month long agitation in Jammu.
Security has been beefed up in and around the Vaishnodevi Devi shrine in Trikuta hills following the recovery of a pen bomb from the premises, police said on Friday.
Life in Srinagar and other major towns of Kashmir valley remained crippled on Wednesday due to a spontaneous strike against the alleged use of force by police. The police personnel allegedly used force against those protesting the transfer of forest land to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board.One person was killed and nearly 100 others, including 22 policemen, have been injured in police firing and clashes between stone pelting demonstrators and law enforcing agencies.
The annual Amarnath yatra has been re-scheduled and will now commence from June 15. The postponement has been forced by the presence of heavy snow on the yatra route to the Himalayan Cave Shrine located at a height of 13000 feet from both southern Chandanwari and northern Baltal routes.
The two-month long annual Hindu pilgrimage to the Himalayan Cave Shrine of Amarnath, which was officially scheduled to begin on Saturday was postponed following incessant rains all along the north and south of Kashmir.
It is an age-old tradition to take the holy mace to different temples to perform religious rituals before finally taking it to the holy Amarnath cave on the day of Rakshabandan.
The number of Amarnath yatris leaving daily for the holy cave shrine of Lord Shiva on Tuesday reduced to three-figure, first time during the pilgrimage this year, with only 885 devotees proceeding for the darshan of ice 'lingam' in south Kashmir.
Authorities on Friday suspended Amarnath yatra from Jammu in view of the continued strike in Kashmir Valley over transfer of forest land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. The devotees were not allowed to proceed from Bhagwati Nagar base camp to the Amarnath cave shrine of Lord Shiva in the Kashmir Himalayas.
The recent stampede at New Delhi Railway station, which claimed the lives of at least 18 people, highlights a recurring issue in India: deadly stampedes. This tragedy is not an isolated incident, as numerous stampedes resulting in significant casualties have occurred over the years. This article explores some of the most devastating stampedes in India, including the deadly event at the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj just a few weeks ago, the 2024 tragedy at a 'satsang' in Hathras, and the 2013 stampede during Navratri festivities in Madhya Pradesh.
The yatra to the cave shrine of Amarnath in Kashmir, situated at an altitude of 3,880 mt, was suspended from both the routes -- Pahalgam and Baltal -- on Tuesday as heavy rains rendered the ardous tracks slippery, sources said.
It has been suspended due to incessant rains.
The ice Shiv lingam has melted down owing to the rise in temperature.
The weather conditions have also brought about a statewide shortage of essentials. In addition, the snowfall has affected the fresh crops of cherry, apricot, and almond as well as apple orchards.
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