Jammu: Over 700 Amarnath pilgrims left Jammu on Sunday for the twin base camps of Pahalgam and Baltal in Kashmir, officials said.
The 43-day-long pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas commenced on June 30 from the twin tracks — the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district and 14-km shorter Baltal in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
A total of 715 pilgrims in the 31st batch left Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas here in a convoy of 26 vehicles amid heavy CRPF security Sunday morning, the officials said.
They said 384 pilgrims heading for Baltal were the first to leave the Bhagwati Nagar camp in 14 vehicles followed by the second convoy of 12 vehicles carrying 331 pilgrims for Pahalgam.
With this, a total of 142,665 pilgrims have left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the Valley since June 29, the day the first batch of pilgrims was flagged off by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha.
The number of pilgrims visiting the 3,880-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas has drastically fallen in the past three days mostly due to bad weather conditions, they said adding that Sunday’s was the smallest batch of pilgrims in the last one week.
While 3,862 pilgrims left for Amarnath from Jammu on Monday, on Tuesday 2,189 devotees, Wednesday 1,147, Thursday 1,602, Friday 835 and on Saturday 573 people left for the cave shrine from here.
The annual pilgrimage is scheduled to end on August 11 on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
A total of 36 people, mostly pilgrims, have died during the ongoing Amarnath Yatra till now, excluding 15 pilgrims, who died in the flash floods at the Amarnath cave shrine on July 01.
Over 500 devotees leave Jammu base camp for Buddha Amarnath shrine
Another batch of more than 500 pilgrims left on Sunday for the revered Buddha Amarnath shrine in Poonch district from a base camp in Jammu amid tight security arrangements, officials said.
The Buddha Amarnath Yatra resumed on Friday after remaining suspended for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The batch of 535 pilgrims — 365 men, 163 women and seven children — left in 13 vehicles from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu for the shrine amid tight security, they said.
The Yatra will culminate on August 08 with the departure of ‘Chari Mubarak’ from Shri Dashnami Akhara Poonch.
The temple of Baba Buddha Amarnath dedicated to Lord Shiva is also known as “Chattani Baba Amarnath temple” and is located 290 km northwest of Jammu. Standing 4,600 feet above sea level, the shrine is located in a picturesque setting.
A multi-tier security has been put in place at the shrine and on the Yatra route.
