Amarnath lingam melts over fortnight before yatra-end

In disheartening news for the pilgrims craving to have a glimpse of the ice Shivling during the Amaranth pilgrimage- the ice Stalagmite in the holy mountain cave completely melted away more than 21 days before even before the annual pilgrimage officially gets over. Around 2 lakh pilgrims have visited the holy cave shrine this year so far. The heavy rush of pilgrims seems to be one of the key reasons for lingam melting earlier, however the weather also has been erratic, with bouts of humidity and heat in June.

As per pilgrims who visited the shrine on Tuesday-the ice stalagmite, which was particularly well-formed this year when the yatra began on June 30, had melted away. The 43-day Amarnath Yatra started on June 30 this year after a gap of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The yatra was cut short as a precautionary measure in 2019 after the Centre imposed severe restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370.

Only ritualistic aspects of the yatra were conducted in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is not the first time that the Shivling melted before the completion of the Yatra. A tragedy also befell earlier this month when the Yatra was halted on July 8 because of flash floods as 16 people lost their lives in the incident.

Heavy rains disrupted the Yatra once again on July 14 and the Yatra was halted from the Nunwan-Pahalgam base camp. The Amarnath Yatra will conclude on August 11 on the occasion of ‘Shravan Purnima’ coinciding with Raksha Bandhan.

High temperatures in Kashmir over the past few weeks also seem to have played a part in the melting of the naturally forming stalagmite inside the cave. “Early melting of the lingam is not unusual. In 2007, it had melted by July 2. In 2010 it was gone by around July 30. This is a natural phenomenon and it will not dampen the spirit of pilgrims“, said an official of Shiri Amarnath Shrine Board.

Pilgrims start their journey to the 3880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas from both Baltal and Pahalgam base camps. The distance from north Kashmir’s Baltal base camp to the cave shrine is around 14 km and the pilgrims are able to return after ‘Darshan’ the same day.

However, the traditional south Kashmir route from Nunwan base camp to the cave is 45 km passing through Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarni halting stations. The one-way journey to the shrine on this route takes three days. The yatra ends on Shravan Purnima on August 11, which coincides with the Raksha Bandhan festival.