Jammu

A fresh batch of 3,632 pilgrims, including 877 women and 104 sadhus, left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas base camp in Jammu early on Saturday to undertake the annual Amarnath Yatra in the Kashmir Valley, officials said.

The 17th batch of pilgrims left the base camp in a convoy of escorted vehicles for the twin base camps of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district between 2.40 am and 3.15 am, the officials said.

While 2,624 pilgrims are heading for Baltal, another 1,008 pilgrims preferred the traditional Pahalgam route for the yatra, they said.

The 57-day annual pilgrimage has been progressing smoothly, with more than 3.65 lakh pilgrims having paid obeisance at the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine. Although the naturally formed ice Shivling melted earlier than usual this year, the pilgrimage has continued uninterrupted, with devotees continuing to throng the shrine in large numbers.

Of the total pilgrims who have visited the shrine till date, more than 1.12 lakh commenced their pilgrimage from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu. Pilgrims opting for the Jammu base camp are transported to Kashmir in escorted convoys under elaborate security arrangements.

However, a majority of the registered devotees preferred to travel directly to the twin base camps in Kashmir on their own.

Officials said security arrangements remain robust all along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and the two pilgrimage routes to ensure the safe and smooth movement of yatris.

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Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of pilgrims from Bhagwati Nagar base camp on July 2, a day before the start of the pilgrimage in the Valley.

The yatra is scheduled to conclude on August 28, coinciding with the festival of Raksha Bandhan.