July 28, 2012 6:59 PM

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Amarnath yatra enters last leg

Amarnath yatra entered its last leg as 'Chhari Mubarak', the holy mace of Lord Shiva, on Saturday left for the holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.The Amarnath yatra entered its last leg as 'Chhari Mubarak', the holy mace of Lord Shiva, on Saturday left for the holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, even as the number of pilgrims paying obeisance to the ice-lingam crossed six lakh. The saffron-robed mace was taken from its Dashnami Akhara abode in Srinagar to Pahalgam by a group of sadhus and pilgrims led by its custodian Mahant Deependra Giri. The Chhari Mubarak was offered prayers at various temples en route to Pahalgam, which is the traditional base camp for the annual pilgrimage. The holy mace will cover 46-km Pahalgam-cave route amid night halts at Sheshnag and Pachtarni before reaching the cave shrine on August 2, coinciding with Raksha Bhandan, marking the end of the annual pilgrimage.The Amarnath yatra commenced on June 25 from the twin tracks — traditional 45-km Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and 16-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district – and so far over 6.05 lakh pilgrims had paid obeisance at the shrine. Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) Navin K Choudhary has said that about 6 lakh 57 hundred yatris had performed 'darshan' at the shrine by last evening as compared to about 6 lakh 97 hundred yatris who had paid obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum during the corresponding period of Yatra last year. He said 93 pilgrims including 22 women had lost their lives during the ongoing Yatra due to accidents and medical reasons.

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