The annual Shri Amarnath Yatra continued smoothly on Monday, with 3,823 pilgrims departing from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu for the Baltal base camp in Kashmir under tight security arrangements.

According to the Joint Police Control Room, Bhagwati Nagar, the 20th batch left at 2:47 am in a convoy of 140 vehicles, comprising 82 buses, 20 medium motor vehicles (MMVs) and 38 light motor vehicles (LMVs).

The batch included 2,882 men, 838 women, two children, 84 sadhus and 17 sadhvis. No pilgrims were scheduled to travel via the Pahalgam route on Monday.

The convoy proceeded along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway under a multi-tier security cover provided by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and other security agencies. Traffic officials facilitated the convoy’s movement through vulnerable stretches of the highway to ensure the safe passage of pilgrims.

Officials said that with Monday’s departure, the cumulative number of pilgrims who have begun the annual pilgrimage from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu has reached 1,27,326.

The annual pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine in the Himalayas has been progressing under elaborate security and logistical arrangements, with authorities closely monitoring weather conditions and the status of the national highway to ensure the safety of devotees.

Meanwhile, 4,331 pilgrims returned to Jammu from the Baltal base camp on Monday as the 19th down convoy departed at 6:00 am under tight security.

According to officials, the returning convoy comprised 129 vehicles, including 96 heavy motor vehicles (HMVs), eight MMVs, 15 LMVs and 10 motorcycles. The returning pilgrims included 3,440 men, 838 women, four children, 42 sadhus and seven sadhvis.