The three-day Kailash Yatra began in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday with over 12,000 devotees setting off from the ancient Vasuki Nag temple. The pilgrimage to the 14,700-foot-high Kailash Kund is considered one of the toughest as it involves a 18-km trek through the steep Kailash mountain range. Devotees pay their obeisance at the high-altitude temple, where they take a dip in the ice-cold lake and seek the blessings of their deities Vasuki Nag and Lord Shiva. Last year, over 35,000 devotees participated in the yatra and this year organizers are expecting a much larger turnout. The ‘Charri Mubarak’ (holy mace) was taken out from Vasuki Nag Temple at Gatha and was joined by another mace from Vasuki Nag Temple at Vasik Dhera in Bhaderwah town. The yatra was flagged off by Doda Deputy Commissioner Vishesh Paul Mahajan along with Senior Superintendent of Police Abdul Qayoom and Additional Deputy Commissioner Dilmir Chowdhary. Jammu and Kashmir Dharmarth Trust, which is one of the main organizers of the yatra, has demanded that the Kailash Yatra should be promoted on a national level. “This is perhaps the only Yatra of Jammu and Kashmir which continued during the peak of militancy,” said Secretary J-K Dharmarth Trust and former SSP Bhaderwah Ashok Sharma. “The yatra is unique in every aspect and the government should protect and promote it at par with Amarnath and Vaishno Devi pilgrimage,” he added. The Charri Mubarak would reach the high-altitude lake on Wednesday morning after a two-night halt en route.
