Amarnath Yatra Begins with the First Batch of 900 Pilgrims
The annual Amarnath yatra commenced as the first batch of 900 pilgrims left for the holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas on Monday morning from Jammu.
According to officials, state Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora flagged off the batch comprising of 607 men, 229 women and 64 children for two-month-long pilgrimage from the base camp at Bhagwati Nagar.
The pilgrimage, which has been delayed from June 7 due to heavy snow on its traditional Pahalgam-cave route, is being conducted through the shortest Baltal route.
Keeping in view heavy accumulation of snow at some spots from Pahalgam to Panjtarni in the traditional route, snow clearance operation has been stepped up by the army.
The pilgrims left under a thick security cover and are expected to reach Baltal by this evening, from where they will leave for the 3,880 meters high cave shrine tomorrow, the officials said.
A large number of security personnel have been deployed from Lakhanpur to Jawahar tunnel in Jammu division en route to the shrine to provide fool-proof security to the pilgrims.
