Muslim horsemen assist Hindu travelers along the Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage route in Jammu and Kashmir. (Photo: UCA News)
Indian bishops have prayed for the safety of Hindu pilgrims to Amarnath in northern Jammu and Kashmir state after a mudslide killed 16 people and left scores missing.
“The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) is deeply saddened at the loss of lives when devotees went on a pilgrimage to Amarnath,” Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay said in a statement on July 13.
“The cloudburst hit the Amarnath Yatra, washing away not only a sizable chunk of the route but also the tents of the devotees.
“Rescue operations are in full swing in the Kashmir Valley with helicopters making regular reconnaissance trips to ensure that missing pilgrims are located at the earliest in order to minimize the casualty count,” Cardinal Gracias said.
“The CBCI mourns the loss of the lives of the devotees and prays for their families left behind. It also prays for those injured and hopes that they may be healed quickly,” the bishops’ statement said.
Flash floods triggered by heavy rain struck near the shrine on July 8, leaving at least 16 people dead, 37 injured and more than 30 missing, while 15,000 were rescued.
The annual Amarnath Yatra, which began on June 30 and ends on Aug. 11, resumed on July 11 after being suspended for a day due to poor weather.
Amarnath cave, located 3,800 meters above sea level, houses a three-meter ice sheet considered to be a symbol of Lord Shiva.
For more than 60 days each year, between July and August, over half a million Hindus make the perilous five-day trek, known as the Amarnath Yatra, to pay homage to Lord Shiva, the destroyer god in the Hindu trinity.
Officials of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, which manages the pilgrimage, said more than 128,000 pilgrims have so far performed the Amarnath Yatra with another large group of 6,415 pilgrims leaving Jammu on July 13 for the pilgrimage site.
