- Pilgrims began trek to the Amarnath Ice column from near Pahaldam.
- Official Vijay Kumar Bidhuri says there were 415,000 pilgrims.
- India exposes 45,000 troops with high -tech monitoring tools.
SRINAGAR: More than 400,000 Hindus participated for a month -long pilgrimage in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the authorities said weeks after the conflict with Pakistan.
The pilgrimage started on July 3rd and officially closed on August 9, but the organizers said rocking rain had damaged narrow paths and forced a premature end.
The official Vijay Kumar Bidhuri said in a statement late Saturday that 415,000 pilgrims had participated.
Many of the believers began their walk to Amarnath Ice Pillar from near Pahaldam, where gunmen killed 26 April 22 in the disputed region.
New Delhi said the gunmen were supported by Pakistan’s claims that Islamabad has severely rejected while calling for probe in the unfortunate incident-to trigger a number of tit-for-tate diplomatic measures that escalated into a four-day conflict.
It was the worst standoff of the nuclear armed nations since 1999, with more than 70 people killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides, before a 10th of May ceasefire.
A few devoted may still visit the cave, but the number this year is missing the estimated half a million devoted, who participated in 2024.
Officials appealed to Hindus to take on the pilgrimage and increased security of the event by implementing 45,000 troops with high -tech monitoring tools that oversee the overwhelming hike to the cave, dedicated to Shiva, the god of destruction.
On Sunday, Indian forces exchanged fire with gunmen on a third day in coal gam, far from the Amarnath -Pilgrim route. Soldiers have killed two people, a senior police officer said.
