Over 4,100 pilgrims leave Jammu for yatra

Jammu, July 16

Amid heightened security, over 4,100 pilgrims left Jammu city in the early hours of Tuesday for the twin base camps in Kashmir to join the Amarnath Yatra, officials said.

The security has been heightened in and around the base camps and the yatra route following ambush that left four soldiers, including an officer, dead in a gunbattle in Dessa area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district.

Comprehensive arrangements — three-tier security, area dominations, elaborate route deployment and checkpoints — have been put in place for a smooth yatra.

The 19th batch of 4,132 pilgrims left in 151 vehicles for the twin base camps of Baltal and Palagam at 3.04 am amid tight security of CRPF escort from Bhagwati Nagar base camp, the officials said.

While 2,324 pilgrims took the 48-km traditional Pahalgam route, 1,808 pilgrims took the shorter but steep 14-km Baltal route, they said.

With this, a total of 1,00,204 pilgrims have left the Jammu base camp for the Valley since June 28, when Lt Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch.

The 52-day yatra began from June 29 and will conclude on August 19.

More than 4.5 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine last year.