Over 6,200 pilgrims leave Jammu for Amarnath
Jammu: The 15th batch of more than 6,200 Amarnath pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here early on Monday morning amid tight security, officials said.
As many as 2,29,221 devotees have paid obeisance at the Amarnath shrine since the annual pilgrimage began on July 1.
A total of 6,648 pilgrims left in a convoy of 241 vehicles for the twin base camps in Kashmir to undertake the onward journey to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Lord Shiva.
Officials said 3,686 pilgrims, headed for Pahalgam, left in a convoy of 132 vehicles while another convoy of 109 vehicles carrying 2,998 pilgrims left for the Baltal base camp at 3.30 am and 3.45 am, respectively.
The 62-day annual pilgrimage commenced from the twin tracks of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district on July 1. The yatra is scheduled to conclude on August 31.
Meanwhile, three more Amarnath pilgrims have died, taking the death toll during this year’s pilgrimage in the south Kashmir Himalayas to 30, officials said.
The three pilgrims who died since Sunday morning belonged to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Two of the pilgrims died of cardiac arrest, while the cause of the death of the third was being ascertained, the officials added.
While two people died on the Pahalgam route of the yatra, one death occurred on the Baltal route, they said.
These three deaths have taken the toll during the yatra so far this year to 30.
Among the victims are an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officer posted on yatra duty, a sadhu and a sevadar, according to the officials.
Cardiac arrest triggered by low oxygen concentration at high altitude is one of the most common causes of fatalities among Amarnath pilgrims and security forces posted there.
So far, over 2.30 lakh pilgrims have visited the cave shrine to glimpse the natural ice lingam formation.
Press Trust of India
