393 pilgrims leave Jammu for Amarnath

A batch of 393 pilgrims on 28 July left  Jammu for the 3,888-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine of Lord Shiva in south Kashmir Himalayas, amid tight security.

Escorted by the CRPF and the police, the 28th batch consisting of 294 males, 52 females plus 47 sadhus and sadhvis left in a convoy of nine vehicles for Baltal and Pahalgam base-camps of the shrine this morning, officials said.

With today's batch, a total of 68,299 pilgrims have left Jammu for Amarnath since the yatra began from Jammu on 28 June.

The number of pilgrims this year has crossed last year's figures. As many as 2,49,755 pilgrims have visited the cave shrine till last evening, a senior official said.

The government has mobilised a heavy security blanket of over 35,000 to 40,000 troops including the police, the Army, the BSF and the CRPF.

This year's yatra will be eight days shorter than the last year's 48 days and will conclude on Shravan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan) on 7 August.

Situated in a narrow gorge at the farther end of Lidder Valley, Amarnath shrine is 46 km from Pahalgam and 14 km from Baltal.

-PTI