SRINAGAR : Amid tight security arrangements, another batch of 5,794 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu early Monday morning to undertake the annual Amarnath Yatra, officials said.
The latest group of pilgrims, comprising 1,211 women, 21 children, 599 sadhus and 76 sadhvis, departed in separate escorted convoys between 3:10 am and 3:45 am for the twin base camps of Pahalgam and Baltal.
Officials said 3,490 pilgrims travelling in 139 vehicles proceeded towards the Nunwan base camp in Pahalgam, while 2,304 devotees in 128 vehicles headed for the Baltal base camp.
Since the commencement of the pilgrimage on July 3, nearly 60,000 devotees have paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine located at an altitude of 3,880 metres in the south Kashmir Himalayas.
The pilgrimage is being conducted through two routes — the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter but more challenging 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district.
The 57-day annual Amarnath Yatra is scheduled to conclude on August 28, coinciding with the festival of Raksha Bandhan.
