JAMMU: A fresh batch of more than 6,700 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu early Sunday morning for the Amarnath cave shrine in the South Kashmir Himalayas amid tight security arrangements, officials said.
Over 6,700 More Pilgrims Leave Jammu For Amarnath Shrine Amid Tight Security
The fourth batch of pilgrims, comprising 6,721 devotees, including 1,310 women and 22 children, departed in two separate convoys at around 3 am and 3:40 am, they said.
The annual pilgrimage was flagged off from Jammu by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on July 2. With the latest batch, the total number of pilgrims who have left the Jammu base camp for Kashmir has reached 20,220.
Officials said the first convoy, carrying 2,590 pilgrims in 152 vehicles, proceeded towards the Baltal base camp in Ganderbal district, while the second convoy of 4,131 pilgrims in 139 vehicles headed for the Pahalgam base camp in Anantnag district.
More than 26,000 devotees have already offered prayers at the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine during the first two days of the 57-day-long Amarnath Yatra, which began on July 3.
The pilgrimage is being conducted through two routes — the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route and the shorter 14-km Baltal route.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has advised unregistered pilgrims to postpone their travel plans for a few days, citing an unprecedented rush of devotees and full registration slots till July 9.
Officials said that from Sunday onwards, only registered pilgrims will be allowed to move towards Kashmir, while unregistered devotees will be stopped at designated checkpoints until fresh registration quotas are made available.
