858 pilgrims leave Jammu for Amarnath, Buddha Amarnath

Jammu: As many as 858 pilgrims today left for the holy cave of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas and the mountain shrine of Buddha Amarnath in Poonch district of Jammu region from here.

A batch of 726 pilgrims, including 505 males, 212 females and nine children, left Jammu in a convoy of 27 vehicles for the Buddha Amarnath shrine in Poonch this morning amid tight security, officials said.

Another batch of 132 pilgrims consisting of 113 males and 19 females left for the Amarnath shrine in a convoy of five vehicles, they said.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jammu Zone S D Singh Jamwal said the last batch of pilgrims will leave tomorrow from the base camp here.

With today’s batch, a total of 69,500 pilgrims have left for Amarnath in 33 batches since the yatra began from Jammu on June 28.

Over 2.56 lakh pilgrims have so far paid obeisance at the holy cave. The 40-day yatra began on June 29 and is scheduled to end on August 7, coinciding with the festival of Raksha Bandhan.