Second batch of Amarnath pilgrims start journey from Jammu

A batch of 4,417 Amarnath pilgrims left a base camp here onMonday for the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir.

Over 1.5 lakh pilgrims from across the country have so farregistered themselves for the 46-day long pilgrimage, which takes place fromthe 36-km Pahalgam track in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district and 14-kmBaltal route in Ganderbal district.

   

The second batch comprising 4,417 pilgrims — including3,543 males, 843 females and 31 children — left in a fleet of 142 vehiclesfrom Bhagwati Nagar base camp here for Pahalgam and Baltal

For the Pahalgam route, 2,800 pilgrims left the base camp,while 1,617 pilgrims for Baltal left in buses and light motor vehicles, whichwere escorted by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), officials said.

The first batch was flagged off from here on Sunday.Multi-tier security arrangements have been made for smooth and successfulconduct of the yatra concluding on August 15.

As many as 2.85 lakh pilgrims had paid obeisance at the cavelast year, while the number of pilgrims was 3.52 lakh in 2015, 3,20 lakh in2016 and 2.60 lakh in 2017.  

The CRPF inspector general of Jammu, A V Chauhan, had saidon Sunday that all the necessary security arrangements had been put in placealong the yatra route, base camps and halting stations for the safety of thepilgrims. 

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