Jammu, Jul 10 – Amid heavy rains, over 4,600 pilgrims departed from Jammu city early Wednesday to join the annual Amarnath Yatra at the twin base camps in Kashmir, according to officials.
This group, the 13th batch of pilgrims, left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the Baltal and Pahalgam base camps in Kashmir. The 4,627 pilgrims departed in 185 vehicles around 3 am, accompanied by chants of “Bum Bum Bholey.” They were escorted by a CRPF contingent with area security provided by the Army.
Of these, 2,773 pilgrims traveled in 95 vehicles via the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route, while 1,854 pilgrims took the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route in 90 vehicles.
Since June 28, when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch, a total of 72,325 pilgrims have departed from the Jammu base camp for the Valley. The 52-day yatra began on June 29 and will conclude on August 19.
Last year, more than 4.5 lakh pilgrims visited the cave shrine.
