A fresh batch of over 3,500 devotees left Jammu early Thursday morning for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, as the total number of yatris paying obeisance at the holy cave shrine continues to rise steadily.
“More than 3.40 lakh yatris have so far performed the Amarnath Yatra since it commenced on July 3,” an official said. Officials 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 3,500 pilgrims, 2,704 men, 675 women, 12 children, and 109 sadhus and sadhvis, left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here in 140 vehicles between 3.33 am and 4.09 am, they said.
The first escorted convoy of 45 vehicles carrying 832 yatris left at 3:33 a.m. for Baltal base camp, while the second escorted convoy of 95 vehicles carrying 2,668 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 the yatra 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 3.40 lakh pilgrims had ‘darshan’ inside the holy cave shrine.
With this fresh departure, a total of over 133,878 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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