SRINAGAR: A fresh batch of 3,029 pilgrims departed from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu for the Baltal base camp on Tuesday morning under elaborate security arrangements, officials said.
According to the Joint Police Control Room, the 21st batch left at 2:45 a.m. in a convoy of 151 vehicles, comprising 57 buses, 30 medium motor vehicles (MMVs), 58 light motor vehicles (LMVs) and six two-wheelers.
Officials said the convoy was carrying 2,310 men, 590 women, 14 children, 45 sadhus, 40 sadhvis and 30 foreign male pilgrims.
No convoy was scheduled to travel via the Pahalgam axis, with the entire batch proceeding towards the Baltal base camp.
The convoy is moving under multi-layer security and is expected to traverse the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, subject to prevailing traffic and weather conditions, officials said.
With the departure of the latest batch, the cumulative number of pilgrims who have left the Jammu base camp for the annual Shri Amarnath Yatra this year has risen to 1,30,355, according to officials.
