A fresh batch of over 7,500 devotees left the Jammu base camp on early Tuesday morning for the Amarnath shrine in South Kashmir, officials said.
Nearly 94,000 pilgrims have paid obeisance at the 3,880 metre-high cave shrine in just the first five days.
The 38-day annual yatra commenced from twin treks in Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district and the Baltal route in Ganderbal.
The seventh batch of 7,541 devotees, including 5,516 men and 1,765 women, left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here in 309 vehicles for the twin base camps in Kashmir amid tight security arrangements between 2.55 am and 4.05 am at a 1-hour interval, the officials said.
The 4,220 devotees left in 161 vehicles for Nunwan base camp for the longest but easier trek of the 48-kilometre traditional Pahalgam route, while 3,321 pilgrims were headed for the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route in 148 vehicles, they said.
The Yatra figures are set to cross the 1 lakh mark on the fifth day on Tuesday, raising hopes for swelling numbers in the coming days.
With this fresh departure, a total of 94,000 pilgrims have left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu for the Kashmir Valley since Wednesday, after the yatra was flagged off by the LG Manoj Sinha from Jammu.
The yatra goes on as usual, amid tight security arrangements, despite the April 22 Pahalgam attack.
So far, more than 3.5 lakh people have registered online for the pilgrimage, while the numbers are likely to surge in the coming days after the J&K administration established special counters for offline registration.
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