Amarnath Yatra: Fresh batch of 528 pilgrims leaves from Jammu; 2.7 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance so far

Jammu: A fresh batch of 528 pilgrims left on Saturday for the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said. The pilgrims, including 128 women and 47 sadhus, left in a convoy of 18 vehicles from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu under tight security arrangements, they said. [caption id=“attachment_4625701” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] While 340 pilgrims, including 109 women, headed for Baltal base camp in Ganderbal district to undertake the yatra through the shortest 12-kilometre route, the rest of the 188 pilgrims, including 47 sadhus, opted for the traditional 36-kilometre Pahalgam route. They would reach the twin base camps of Baltal and Nunwan-Pahalgam later in the day and are likely to undertake the yatra on Sunday, the officials said. The 60-day annual yatra commenced from the twin tracks on 28 June and will coincide with ‘Raksha Bandhan’ festival. Till Friday, a total of 2,69,759 pilgrims had paid obeisance at the 3,880-metre high holy cave shrine.