Spiritual guru and Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Tuesday requested pilgrims to postpone their participation in the ongoing Amarnath Yatra to 2019 in view of recent natural tragedies.
Sri Sri made the request in his capacity as a member of the Amarnath Shrine Board.
In a press release and also via social media, Sri Sri said heavy rains and landslides have disrupted both the routes to the holy cave, which has marred the progress of the Amarnath Yatra.
The holy cave shrine of Amarnath is in the South Kashmir Himalayas.
Sri Sri said that despite the best efforts of the chairman of Amarnath Shrine Board, Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vora, the Army and Border Security Force, it was unlikely that the roads would become suitable for travel in the near future.
"Pilgrims already there were facing extreme difficulties and so it was advisable that those planning for the Yatra reconsider their travel plans and invoke Bholenath through meditation and prayer from where they are," Sri Sri said in a release.
Till the evening of July 8, a total of 94,412 pilgrims had paid their obeisance at the holy cave, housing the naturally formed ice-shivlingam since the beginning of the annual yatra on June 27.