Jammu, Jul 29 – Over 1,800 pilgrims departed from the base camp in Jammu for the 3,880-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas under tight security on Monday, officials reported.
This year, more than 4.55 lakh pilgrims have already paid homage at the naturally-formed ice lingam at the cave shrine, surpassing last year’s total of over 4.5 lakh pilgrims.
The 32nd batch, consisting of 1,832 pilgrims, left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp at 3:22 am in a convoy of 62 vehicles, escorted by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The group comprised 1,358 men, 363 women, two children, and 109 sadhus and sadhvis.
Among the pilgrims, 1,263 will reach Pahalgam to undertake the annual pilgrimage through the traditional 48-km route in Anantnag district, while 569 have chosen the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district.
Since June 28, when Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of pilgrims from Jammu, a total of 1,38,816 pilgrims have embarked on the annual pilgrimage from the base camp.
The 52-day yatra, which formally began on June 29 from the Baltal and Pahalgam base camps in Kashmir, is set to conclude on August 19.
