Over 9,000 pilgrims leave Jammu for Amarnath Yatra

A fresh batch of 9,182 pilgrims departed from Jammu's Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the Amarnath cave shrine under tight security. With this, more than two lakh devotees have undertaken the annual pilgrimage, which concludes on August 28.

Jammu: The 10th batch of 9,182 pilgrims, including 2,435 women, left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here on Saturday to pay obeisance at the holy Amarnath cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.

The pilgrims also included 256 sadhus, 46 sadhvis and 31 children. They left for the twin base camps at Nunwan-Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal in separate convoys under tight security arrangements in the early hours of the day, they said.

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According to officials, 5,877 pilgrims are heading to the Pahalgam base camp in a convoy of 206 vehicles, while 3,305 pilgrims travelling in 127 vehicles have opted for the Baltal route.

The 57-day annual pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine began on July 3 from the two routes and is scheduled to conclude on August 28, coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan festival.

More than two lakh pilgrims have visited the shrine so far this year.