Fresh batch of 6,639 pilgrims sets out for Amarnath shrine from Jammu base camp

Jammu: The 11th batch of 6,639 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu on Saturday to pay obeisance at the holy Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said. The pilgrims, including 1,462 women, 41 children and 181 sadhus and sadhvis, left for the twin base camps of Nunwan-Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal in two separate convoys under tight security arrangements in the early hours of the day, they said. While 4,302 pilgrims are heading for Pahalgam base camp in a convoy of 159 vehicles, 2,337 pilgrims onboard 116 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. Over 1.65 lakh pilgrims have so far visited the shrine, which houses a naturally formed Shivlingam.