A fresh batch of 5,201 pilgrims departed from Jammu for the twin base camps of the annual Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir on Thursday under tight security arrangements, as the pilgrimage continued to witness a steady flow of devotees from across the country.
Officials said that more than 3.25 lakh devotees have so far offered prayers at the 3,880-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine, one of Hinduism’s holiest pilgrimage sites dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Latest batch includes sadhus, women and children
The latest batch included 92 sadhus, nine sadhvis, 3,970 men, 1,124 women, five children and one transgender pilgrim. The devotees travelled in a convoy of 251 vehicles escorted by personnel from the CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police., with elaborate security measures in place along the route.
According to officials, the convoy left in two phases. The first group, carrying 1,745 pilgrims to the Baital base camp in 74 vehicle, departed at 3 am. The second convoy, comprising 3,456 pilgrims heading to the Pahalgam base camp in 177 vehicles, departed for the Pahalgam base camp at 3.30 am.
Over one lakh pilgrims have left Jammu base camp
With the departure of Thursday’s batch, a total of 1,04,488 pilgrims have travelled from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu and Kashmir since the pilgrimage began on July 2.
The Bhagwati Nagar base resonated with chants of “Bam Bam Bhole”, “Har Har Mahadev” and “Jai Barfani Baba Ki” as devotees began their journey. Many pilgrims expressed satisfaction with the arrangements, praising the administration for ensuring smooth registration, transportation, accomodation and security.
Tight security along yatra route
Authorities havae deployed multi-layered security and strenghtened surveillance across the pilgrimagae route to ensure the safety of devotees. Medical facilities, emergency response teams, sanitation services and weather monitoring systems have also been put in place to facilitate the annual pilgrimage.
The Amarnath Yatra is conducted every year to the naturally formed ice Shivling inside the sacred cave shrine in the Himalayas. Pilgrims can reach the shrine through the traditional Pahalgam route or the shorter but steeper Baital route.
Yatra to conclude on August 28
The 57-day annual Amarnath Yatra is scheduled to conclude on August 28, with authorities expecting several more batches of devotees to undertake the yatra in the coming weeks.
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