On Monday, the 27th group of 1,490 Amarnath pilgrims departed from Jammu, heading to the 3,880-meter-high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas. This convoy, comprising 1,262 men, 186 women, and 42 sadhus and sadhvis, left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp between 3:25 AM and 3:57 AM in 61 vehicles, under tight security from CRPF and police.
The first 16 vehicles, carrying 327 pilgrims, set off for the shorter 14-km Baltal route. This was followed by 45 vehicles transporting 1,163 pilgrims for the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route. In total, 14,27,85 pilgrims have now left the Jammu base camp for the valley since July 2, when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch.
Since the 38-day pilgrimage began on July 3, over 3.86 lakh pilgrims have paid their respects at the naturally formed ‘ice lingam’ of Lord Shiva. The pilgrimage is scheduled to conclude on August 9, coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan festival. Last year, more than 5.10 lakh pilgrims visited the shrine.
