Amarnath Yatra: 2,900 pilgrims leave Jammu for cave shrine

Jammu: More than 2,900 pilgrims left Jammu for the 3,880-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine in the South Kashmir Himalayas amid tight security arrangements on Wednesday morning, officials said.

More than four lakh pilgrims have already paid obeisance at the naturally-formed ice lingam at the cave shrine, as compared to the over 4.5 lakh last year.

The 27th batch of 2,907 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here at 3:40 am in 103 vehicles under Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) escort.

The group included 2,194 men, 598 women, 11 children and 104 sadhus and sadhvis.

Of them, 1,773 pilgrims have opted for the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route, while 1,134 have chosen the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route, the officials said.

Since June 28, when Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of pilgrims from Jammu, a total of 1,28,404 pilgrims have embarked on the annual pilgrimage from the base camp here.

The 52-day yatra, which commenced formally on June 29 from the Baltal and Pahalgam base camps in Kashmir, is scheduled to conclude on August 19.