7,049 pilgrims leave Jammu for Amarnath Yatra
The 12th batch, including women and sadhus, departed under tight security for Pahalgam and Baltal routes; nearly 1.83 lakh pilgrims have visited so far
Jammu, Jul 13 (PTI) The 12th batch of 7,049 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu on Sunday to pay obeisance at the holy Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said. The pilgrims, including 1,423 women, 31 children and 136 sadhus and sadhvis, left for the twin base camps of Nunwan-Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal in separate convoys under tight security arrangements in the early hours of the day, they said.
While 4,158 pilgrims are heading for Pahalgam base camp in a convoy of 148 vehicles, 2891 pilgrims on board 138 vehicles have preferred the Baltal route, the officials said. The 38-day annual pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre high cave shrine started from the two routes on July 3 and is scheduled to end on August 9, coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan festival. Nearly 1.83 lakh pilgrims have so far visited the shrine, which houses a naturally formed Shivlingam. PTI