25th Amarnath Yatra batch with over 3,200 pilgrims leaves from Jammu

Jammu: Over 3,200 devotees enthusiastically left from Jammu on the pilgrimage to Amarnath shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas early Monday morning amid tight security arrangements, officials said.

The 25th batch with 3,281 pilgrims left in 111 vehicles under CRPF escort from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp at 3 am, they said.

Of these, 1,979 pilgrims opted for the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route, while 1,302 chose the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route, they added.

A total of 123,013 pilgrims have embarked on Amarnath Yatra from the Jammu base camp since June 28, when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch here.

Over 3.80 lakh pilgrims have already paid obeisance at the naturally-formed ice lingam at the 3,880-metre high cave shrine, compared to more than 450,000 last year.

The 52-day yatra, which commenced on June 29 from Baltal and Pahalgam base camps in Kashmir, will conclude on August 19.