A woman pilgrim died at Baltal base camp of the Amarnath yatra in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday night, taking the death toll in this year’s pilgrimage to 13, police said on Sunday.
Lakshmi Bhai (54), a resident of Hyderabad, died due to cardiac arrest at Baltal base camp during the night, said a police officer. He said the body was currently at the base camp hospital.
Meanwhile, Amarnath pilgrims were not allowed to move towards the cave shrine from Jammu on Sunday due to a separatist-called protest shutdown in the Kashmir valley.
The protest shutdown was called to mark the second death anniversary of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani who was killed along with his two associates by the security forces on this day in 2016 in Anantnag’s district’s Kokarnag area.
“No yatri movement was allowed today from Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas towards the Valley,” the police said.
Officials of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) said 10,107 pilgrims per formed the pilgrimage on Saturday as Yatris were allowed to move towards the shrine from both Baltal and the Pahalgam base camps.
Since it started on June 28, 83,130 pilgrims have performed the Yatra so far this year. The pilgrimage will end on August 26 coinciding with the Shravan Purnima festival.
