Second batch of pilgrims leave for Amarnath yatra from Jammu

Jammu: Amid tight security, the second batch of more than 5,200 pilgrims left the base camp here on Thursday for the Amarnath cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.

The 38-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high shrine commenced on Thursday via the twin tracks — the traditional 48-km-long Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the 14-km shorter but steeper Baltal route in Ganderbal district. The yatra will conclude on August 9.

The pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in a cavalcade of 168 vehicles escorted by security police and central paramilitary forces, they said.

With this, the number of pilgrims who have left for the shrine from the Jammu base camp has reached 11,138, officials said.

The second batch of pilgrims includes 4,074 men, 786 women, and 19 children.

A group of pilgrims on way to the shrine said they were not deterred by the April 22 Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead. "We do not fear terrorists or Pakistan, which has engineered attacks on innocent and unarmed tourists. It is a cowardly act. They cannot stop us from paying obeisance at Baba Barfani by triggering fear through terror incidents such as Pahalgam," Harish Kumar, a resident of Raipur and part of a 37-member group of devotees, said.

Like him, Mukhtar Singh, who left for Amarnath along with a group of 20 members from Kanpur, said they do not have the slightest fear.

"The increasing number of pilgrims thronging the yatra will send a befitting reply to terrorists and Pakistan that we do not fear them," he said.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of pilgrims for the annual Amarnath Yatra from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp on Wednesday.

A multi-tier security setup has been activated in and around the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the annual pilgrimage.

Thirty-four accommodation centres have been set up across Jammu, and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are being issued to the pilgrims.

Twelve counters have been set up for the on-the-spot registration of pilgrims who intend to undertake the yatra.

So far, more than 3.5 lakh people have registered themselves online for the pilgrimage.