6,400 Devotees Begin Journey to Amarnath Cave Shrine

Jammu, July 11 (PTI) - Over 6,400 devotees, accompanied by a comprehensive security detail, embarked on their journey to the twin base camps of the Amarnath cave shrine, situated at an elevation of 3,880 meters in the southern Kashmir Himalayas, officials indicated on Thursday. Since the start of the 38-day annual pilgrimage from July 3, via the dual paths of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district, over 1.30 lakh pilgrims have offered their prayers at the shrine. The 10th batch, consisting of 6,482 pilgrims including 4,838 men, 1,387 women, 16 children, and 241 monks, departed from the Bhagwati Nagar camp in 268 vehicles, escorted by CRPF and police personnel between 3:20 am and 4:04 am. According to officials, the first convoy, which had 2,353 pilgrims in 107 vehicles, headed towards the shorter yet more challenging 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district. The second convoy comprised 161 vehicles, ferrying 4,129 pilgrims on their journey through the 48-km traditional Pahalgam route in Anantnag district. With this departure, a total of 69,270 pilgrims have set out from the Jammu base camp to the Valley since July 2, following the flag-off of the first batch by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. So far, more than 4 lakh individuals have registered online for the pilgrimage. Last year, the shrine, known for its naturally formed ice lingam, saw the participation of over 5.10 lakh pilgrims.

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