The seventh batch, comprising of 5,124 pilgrims, Saturdayleft Bhagwati Nagar base camp here amid tight security arrangements to payobeisance at the 3,880-metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south KashmirHimalayas, officials said.
The pilgrims, including 864 women, 187 sadhus (saints) and19 children, left in a convoy of 226 vehicles under tight security cover andwill be reaching the twin base camps of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district later in the day, they said.
Over 70,000 yatris have so far offered their prayers at thecave shrine, housing the naturally formed ice-shivlingam, since thecommencement of the 46-day yatra on July 1 from the twin routes — traditional36-km Pahalgam and 14-km Baltal.
Of the latest batch, the officials said, 3,130, including426 women, 19 children and 187 sadhus, are performing yatra through thetraditional route, while 1,994 pilgrims, including 438 women and 38 sadhus,have preferred the Baltal track.
The yatra is scheduled to end on August 15 coinciding withthe Raksha Bandhan festival.