Fresh batch of 7,200 pilgrims leaves for Amarnath yatra

Amid incessant rains, a fresh batch of over 7,200 pilgrims left the base camp here early Sunday for the Amarnath shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.

The 38-day annual pilgrimage, which started on July 3, crossed the 50,000 mark on Sunday.

The fifth batch of 7,208 pilgrims, including 1,587 women and 30 children, left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in two separate convoys amid tight security arrangements between 3.35 am and 4.15 am, the officials said.

This was the largest batch of pilgrims since Wednesday, when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the yatra from here.

With this, a total of 31,736 pilgrims have left the Jammu base camp for the Valley. The first pilgrim convoy carrying 3,199 pilgrims in 147 vehicles left for the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district followed by second convoy of 4,009 pilgrims in 160 vehicles who are undertaking the yatra from the 48-km traditional Pahalgam route in Anantnag district, the officials said.

The pilgrims braved heavy rains which lashed wide parts of Jammu throughout the night.

So far, over 50,000 pilgrims have visited the 3,880 metre high cave shrine of Amarnath since the commencement of the yatra on July 3, the officials said.

The yatra goes on as usual, albeit in tighter security, despite the April 22 Pahalgam attack in which 26 men were gunned down.

The Bhagwati Nagar base camp has been put under a multi-tier security cover in the backdrop of the April 22 Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead.

More than 3.5 lakh people have registered online for the pilgrimage so far. Thirty-four accommodation centres have been set up across Jammu, and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are being issued to the pilgrims. Twelve counters have been set up for an on-the-spot registration of pilgrims.