SRINAGAR: The annual Shri Amarnath Yatra continued on Monday with 3,823 pilgrims leaving the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu for the Baltal base camp under multi-layered security arrangements, officials said.
According to the Joint Police Control Room, Bhagwati Nagar, the 20th batch departed at 2.47 a.m. in a convoy of 140 vehicles, comprising 82 buses, 20 medium motor vehicles (MMVs) and 38 light motor vehicles (LMVs). No pilgrims were scheduled to travel via the Pahalgam route on Monday.
The batch included 2,882 men, 838 women, two children, 84 sadhus and 17 sadhvis. The convoy travelled along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway under security provided by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the CRPF and other agencies, while traffic authorities facilitated its movement through vulnerable stretches to ensure safe passage.
Officials said that with the departure of Monday’s convoy, the cumulative number of pilgrims who have left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp this year has reached 1,27,326.
The annual pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in the Himalayas is continuing under extensive security and logistical arrangements, with authorities keeping a close watch on weather conditions and the status of the highway.
