Two Punjab pilgrims die during Manimahesh Yatra in Himachal
Bharmour SDM and Manimahesh Yatra Trust secretary Kulbir Singh Rana said three pilgrims have died since the pilgrimage in Himachal Pradesh began on September 7
Two devotees from Pathankot and Amritsar in Punjab died while undertaking the Manimahesh pilgrimage in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, police said on Tuesday.
The victims were identified as Jarnail Singh of Faridnagar in Pathankot and Ravikant from Amritsar.
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Jarnail Singh, who embarked on the yatra on Sunday with his friends, complained of difficulty in breathing due to low oxygen at Gauri Kund, 1km before Manimahesh Lake. He was taken to a nearby health camp set up by the local administration where he died on Monday.
Bharmour SDM and Manimahesh Yatra Trust secretary Kulbir Singh Rana said the body was brought to Bharmour by a rescue team of the mountaineering institute and handed over to family members after autopsy.
In another incident, Ravikant died after he slipped and fell into a 500-metre gorge near Harsar, the base camp of the pilgrimage, late on Monday.
A joint team of the National Disaster Response Force and the mountaineering institute retrieved the body and brought it to the Bharmour hospital for autopsy.
Rana said three pilgrims have died since the Manimahesh Yatra began on September 7. The pilgrimage concludes on September 23.
Every year, hundreds of pilgrims from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and others parts of the country trek to the oval-shaped lake to catch a glimpse of Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva.
The 14-km uphill journey, starting from around 6,000 feet at Hadsar base camp and concluding at 13,500-feet high Manimahesh Lake, is considered as arduous as the trek to the Amarnath cave shrine in Jammu and Kashmir. It is believed that devotees can view Mount Kailash and the sun shining behind the peak only if Lord Shiva is pleased. When the sun shines behind the peak it is called Lord Shiva’s “mani” (jewel).
Six rescued from Lam Dal in Dhauladhars
Six pilgrims stranded at Darkund near Lam Dal, a glacier lake situated in the Dhauladhar mountain range, were rescued late on Monday.
Chamba deputy commissioner Apoorv Devgan said that the administration had got information about the group of six people, who had come from Kangra, getting stranded near Darkund after which a rescue team was despatched on Sunday. The pilgrims were rescued by Monday evening, he said.