SRINAGAR – Thousands of devotees have started reaching the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir as a 43-day Hindu pilgrimage kicked off on Thursday amid unprecedented security measures and ongoing military operation against Kashmiri people.
Authorities estimate that one million Hindus from all over India will take part in the pilgrimage as the religious procession did not take place for two years due to coronavirus pandemic.
For pilgrimage, the devotees complete 350km long track by walk for several days or use donkey to visit ice stalagmite in Amarnath cave, representing the Hindu god Shiva.
Reports said that armed troops have been deployed on two main routes leading to the shrine while locals have been barred from visiting the tourist places of Pahalgam and Sonmarg.
The Indian forces have killed more than 100 Kashmiri people in running year and nearly 30 in the month of June alone in a bid to curb voices against Indian oppression.
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