More than 1,600 Amarnath pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu early Friday morning for the Baltal base camp in Sonmarg under tight security arrangements, officials said. The Yatra was allowed to pass the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH44) due to ongoing restoration and stabilisation works.
According to the Joint Police Control Room, the 24th batch departed at 2.42 am in a convoy of 54 vehicles, including 38 buses, seven MMVs and nearly a dozen light motor vehicles (LMVs).
The latest batch consisted of 1,215 male pilgrims, 335 women, 48 sadhus, five sadhvis and two children accompanying sadhus.
With this convoy, the total number of pilgrims who have departed from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu this year has reached 135,806.
However, vehicular movement on the important Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH44) remained completely suspended on Friday following separate orders issued by the district administrations of Udhampur and Ramban.
Authorities said the temporary traffic halt was necessary to ensure public safety and allow the NHAI to undertake critical repair works for the safe reopening of the highway. The Yatra convoy had crossed the affected highway stretch before the traffic suspension came into effect, officials said.
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