A fresh batch of over 3,500 devotees left Jammu early Tuesday morning for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, as the total number of yatris who have paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine continues to rise.
“More than 3 lakh yatris have so far performed the Amarnath Yatra since it commenced on July 3,” an official said. The official further stated, “Another batch of 3,536 yatris left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in two escorted convoys for the Valley today.
The fresh batch of 3,536 pilgrims, that includes 2601 men, 822 women, 11 children, 102 sadhus and sadhvis, and a transgender person, left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here in 148 vehicles between 3.33 am and 4.09 am, they said.
The first escorted convoy of 48 vehicles carrying 1,250 yatris left at 3:33 am for Baltal base camp, while the second escorted convoy of 84 vehicles carrying 2,286 yatris left at 4:09 am for Nunwan (Pahalgam) base camp, officials said.
The authorities have made extensive multi-tier security arrangements for this year’s yatra, as it takes place after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack in which terrorists shot dead 26 people, mostly tourists, in Baisaran meadow on April 22.
Officials said that since the yatra started on July 3, so far over 3 lakh pilgrims had ‘darshan’ inside the holy cave shrine. With this fresh departure, a total of over 1,27,000 pilgrims have left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu for the Kashmir Valley since LG Manoj Sinha flagged off the yatra from Jammu on July 2.
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.
Last year, more than 5.10 lakh yatris paid obeisance at the cave shrine.
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