Jammu: The 32nd batch of over 450 pilgrims left Jammu for the twin base camps of the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said on Monday.
A total of 458 pilgrims left Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas here in a convoy of 21 vehicles amid heavy security this morning, they said.
They said 164 pilgrims heading for Baltal were the first to leave the camp in eight vehicles followed by the second convoy of 13 vehicles carrying 294 pilgrims for Pahalgam.
The number of pilgrims visiting the cave shrine is drastically falling as the Yatra is inching towards its conclusion and also due to bad weather conditions, officials said.
The annual 43-day Yatra commenced from the twin base camps — traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag and 14-km shorter Baltal in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal — on June 30.
A total of 143,123 pilgrims have left from 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 Yatra is scheduled to end on August 11 on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
A total of 36 people, mostly pilgrims, have died during the on-going Amarnath Yatra so far, excluding 15 people, who died in the flash floods at Amarnath cave shrine on July 01.
Over 800 devotees left for Buddha Amarnath shrine in Poonch
Another batch of over 800 pilgrims on Monday left for Buddha Amarnath shrine in Poonch district from base camp in Jammu amid tight security, officials said.
The Buddha Amarnath Yatra resumed on Friday after a gap of two years as the pilgrimage remained suspended for two years due to Covid pandemic.
A batch of 827 pilgrims comprising 803 men, 22 women and two children left in 21 vehicles from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu for the shrine, they said.
On Saturday, a batch of 950 pilgrims, including 763 men and 185 women, had left in 22 vehicles from the Jammu base camp for the shrine.
The Yatra will culminate on August 08 with the departure of ‘Chhari 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 kilometres northwest of Jammu. Standing 4,600 feet above sea level, the shrine is located amid picturesque surroundings.
Multi-tier security has been put in place enroute to the shrine to ensure incident-free Yatra this year, officials said.
