Kashmir News Trust [KNT]
The 43-days long Amarnath Yatra that concluded on the eve of Raksha Bandhan on Thursday claimed at least 62 lives – 47 pilgrims died of different ailments while 15 lives were lost due to cloud burst.
The official data reveals that 47 pilgrims died of different ailments and cardiac arrest caused due to high-altitude climate conditions. Fourteen pilgrims died while taking the shortest Baltal route while 33 died after following the traditional Pahalgam route.
Besides these 47 deaths, 15 pilgrims died on July 8, when a cloudburst struck near the cave shrine causing flash floods. Fifty-five pilgrims also sustained injuries due to the flash floods.
Due to inclement weather, Yatra as per news agency Kashmir News Trust was suspended for many days. Over 8 lakh pilgrims were expected to pay obeisance at the holy cave, however, the weather proved a bottleneck allowing only 3 lakh Yatris to visit the shrine.
This year’s Yatra- which physically started on June 30, over three dozen Yatris were injured in different road accidents. Locals played a key role in getting injured Yatris shifted to the hospitals.
The official data reveals that of the 3, 03,502 Yatris who visited the cave, 32,892 in 5,902 sorties were taken to the Amarnath shrine from the Baltal route in Ganderbal district by helicopters. The services were also made available from the traditional Pahalgam route.
This year’s Yatra ended on a peaceful note. Due to unprecedented security arrangements, no militancy-related incident was reported anywhere during the Yatra.
Due to the Amarnath Yatra, the transporters faced a lot of problems due to restrictions on the Srinagar-Jammu highway. (KNT)
