The number of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims this year are in deed encouraging. The devotees seem unmoved by the recent attack on the bus carrying pilgrims back from the yatra.
Pilgrimage, so far, has crossed 2.40 lakh and is expected to cross the number of 3 lakh.
Initially, only 2.30 lakh devotees had registered for the pilgrimage, but the numbers are expected to cross this limit. The pilgrimage is yet to go on for another 13 days before its culmination.
The pilgrimage touched record numbers in the year 2011 when the number of pilgrims was 6.35 lakh.
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| Year | Pilgrimage (in lakhs) |
| 2007 | 2.96 |
| 2008 | 5.33 |
| 2009 | 3.81 |
| 2010 | 4.56 |
| 2011 | 6.35 |
| 2012 | 6.20 |
| 2013 | 3.54 |
| 2014 | 3.74 |
| 2015 | 3.52 |
| 2016 | 2.20 |
Registration of mere 2.30 lakh as compared to 6.35 lakh shows that the pilgrimage has reduced to almost one-third of the record number.
If this unperturbed spirit of pilgrims keeps on like this, we can definitely expect to break records by next year!
It is worth noting that these are not the worst of numbers. An extreme low number of 1.1 lakh was recorded in the year 2002 amid tension within Kashmir and across the border.
