Over 3,000 pilgrims left Jammu base-camp for Amarnath Yatra

Jammu: A fresh batch of more than 3,000 pilgrims on Thursday left Jammu for the twin basecamps of the Amarnath cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas.

More than 4.25 lakh pilgrims have already paid obeisance at the naturally-formed ice lingam at the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine, as compared to over 4.5 lakh last year.

The 28th batch of 3,089 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here at 3.23 am in 106 vehicles under Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) escort.

Of these, 1,803 pilgrims opted for the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route, while 1,286 chose the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route, they said.

Since June 28, when Lt Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch from Jammu, 3,11,493 pilgrims have embarked from the Jammu base camp.

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