843 pilgrims leave Jammu base camp for Amarnath Yatra

Jammu, Aug 16 (PTI) A batch of 834 pilgrims on Wednesday left a base camp here for the Kashmir Valley under tight security to undertake the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, officials said.

The 39th batch comprising 614 males, 146 females, 67 seers and seven children left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp, in a convoy of 27 vehicles, for the twin base camps in Pahalgam and Baltal, between 3 am and 3.40 am, they said.

The 62-day annual pilgrimage to the 3,888-metre high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas commenced from the twin tracks of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district on July 1.

The traditional 48-kilometre Nunwan-Pahalgam route has so far been chosen by 586 pilgrims and they left for Amarnath in 20 vehicles.

The shorter but more challenging 14-kilometre Baltal route was preferred by the remaining 248 and they left Jammu in seven vehicles for the Amarnath.

So far, more than 4.25 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the cave shrine.

The yatra is scheduled to conclude on August 31.