Srinagar, August 10
The annual pilgrimage to the holy Amarnath shrine concluded today on ‘Shravan Purnima’ amid chanting of religious hymns.

Over 3.72 lakh devotees paid obeisance at the cave shrine this year, said an official statement. The yatra had commenced from the Baltal route on June 28 and from the Pahalgam route on July 2.

Governor NN Vohra, who is Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), and Rakesh K Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, visited the shrine this morning. The Governor prayed for sustained peace, harmony, progress and prosperity in the state.

After reviewing the functioning of the shrine yatra camp, the Governor visited similar facilities at Panjtarni, Baltal, Sheshnag and Nunwan and held meetings with civil, police and Army officials. He expressed satisfaction over the smooth conduct of the yatra this year despite serious constraints arising from heavy snowfall in the preceding months.

The Governor directed the CEO to ensure complete cleaning up of all camp sites and prepare a route-wise action plan for 2015 yatra. A full-scale sanitation drive, involving the Pahalgam and Sonamarg development authorities, must be launched, he said.

He said route-wise arrangements must be worked out well in advance with a special focus on medicare, sanitation, cleanliness, water and power supply. Officials must ensure protection of environment and ecology of the yatra area, said the Governor.

Vohra is also chairing a post-yatra review meeting on August 13. The Governor expressed serious concern over the loss of life of pilgrims due to medical reasons and accidents. At yatra camps, he held detailed discussions with medical officers and requested them to identify effective measures to save precious lives.