Amarnath yatra ends on Saturday

Pahalgam: Amid raging protests in Jammu and Kashmir over the Amarnath land row, the Amarnath land yatra came to end on Saturday.

Forty-seven-year old Ishwar Chand Verma and his wife Shoba Verma are all smiles back from the holy cave after their Darshan.

The Vermas say that their ninth consecutive Amarnath Yatra has been a success inspite of all the controversy and violence over the land transfer issue.

“We had a good time and we did not face any problem. There were no security issues also and the locals were also really nice,” says Ishwar.

Not just the Vermas, this entire group of yatris agreed that it was the weather that played the spoiler than the ongoing controversy.

In Pahalgam, the locals had prepared meals for this batch of yatris. The 30-year-old Abdul Razak and his family have been offering their services to the yatris since a very long time.

"I'll die but won’t let anything happen to the yatris. They are our guests and we have been playing hosts for generations now," says Razak.

“Our family has been doing this for years. We have made the yatra successful,” he added.

Razak says that the ongoing land row has reduced the number of yatris in July and August. Other than that, this year too had the locals who have been playing the traditional hosts.

The ongoing agitation in Jammu and Kashmir has affected the yatra in letter but not in spirit. The generations old bond between the yatris and the locals is still very strong.

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