The annual pilgrimage to the holy Amarnath cave shrine in South Kashmir concluded today, with about 3.39 lakh pilgrims offering prayers at the naturally-formed ice-shivalingam this year. According to official sources, with the arrival of the ‘Charri Mubarak’, the holy mace of Lord Shiva, at the Himalayan shrine on Shrawan Purnima today, the yatra, which was cut short by 16 days, came to an end. The sources said the custodian of the holy mace, Mahant Deependra Giri, along with about 20 other priests were flown to the cave in a helicopter where they performed the rituals.

Meanwhile, Budha Amarnath Yatra in the border district of Poonch of Jammu also concluded peacefully.

The 46-day Amarnath yatra, which had begun on July 1, was suspended on July 31 for four days due to inclement weather conditions. Three days later, the yatra was concluded as the army said Pakistan-based terrorists are planning to target the yatra and the Jammu and Kashmir administration asked the pilgrims and tourists to “curtail” their stay in the Valley and leave immediately.