New Delhi, July 14 -- The holy Amarnath Yatra witnessed an unprecedented surge in pilgrim turnout as nearly 2 lakh yatris performed darshan at the sacred Himalayan cave within the first 11 days of the 38-day long pilgrimage.

Till yesterday evening, 1,82,746 devotees had visited the holy shrine. With an additional 14,756 pilgrims performing darshan till 4 PM today, the figure crossed the 2 lakh mark by this evening. This milestone was achieved four days earlier than last year when the same figure was recorded in 15 days.

The increase in pilgrim numbers from both the Baltal-Sonamarg and Nunwan-Pahalgam routes has contributed significantly to this year's higher turnout. Officials noted that the flow of devotees continues to grow with each ...