Annual Amarnath yatra concludes at Pahalgam after last rituals

Srinagar: The annual pilgrimage of Chhari-Mubarak of Amarnath culminated on Tuesday at Pahalgam with its last rituals of “Pujan and Visarjan” which were performed at the bank of river Lidder.Large number of Sadhus and pilgrims who had come from various parts of the country joined the Pujan.
Later, ‘Karri-Pakouri’ Bhandara was organized and ‘Dakshina’ was offered to them.
Chhari-Mubarak was taken to Holy cave on August 26 on the occasion of ‘Sharavan-Purnima’ and Pujan was performed chanting Vedic Hymn.
Mahant Deependra Giri, custodian of Chhari told reporters that collective prayers were offered for the peace and prosperity of Jammu and Kashmir State and Kashmir in particular when asked to comment on prevailing situation in the Kashmir Valley.
However, he expressed displeasure for not allowing to perform Puja at Shiv Temple Bijbehara for the last two years by the State Government which is an annual feature during Chhari-Mubarak Yatra.
Mahant wondered as to why the State Administration could not sanitize the area for just half an hour for Pujan that was a scheduled program. He said they had informed the administration about one and a half month before.
Addressing the gathering after the culminating ceremony, Mahant  congratulated and thanked Indian Army, BSF, CRPF, J&K Police, Health Department, PHE, PDD, all the agencies connected with making arrangements for the Yatra and people of Jammu & Kashmir for successful Yatra.
He appreciated the services rendered by all the voluntary organizations for providing langar, medical and other essential facilities to the pilgrims during the pilgrimage.
All the arrangements including transportation, accommodation and food for the Sadhus and people from general public who had accompanied Chhari-Mubarak during Yatra were made by ‘The True Trust’ founded by Mahant in year 2004.