Banihal, Jul 26: The annual Shri Amarnath Yatra continued smoothly on Sunday with the 19th batch of 4,474 pilgrims leaving the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu for the Baltal base camp in Kashmir under tight security arrangements.
According to the Joint Police Control Room, Base Camp Bhagwati Nagar, the convoy departed at 2:42 a.m. and comprised 166 vehicles, including 93 buses, 26 mini-buses, and 47 light motor vehicles (LMVs). No convoy was dispatched for the Pahalgam axis.
The batch included 3,531 men, 785 women, 96 sadhus, 51 sadhvis, 10 children and one transgender pilgrim.
The Yatra had remained suspended for six days after incessant rains triggered landslides, mudslides and shooting stones at several vulnerable locations along NH-44, forcing the closure of the highway for three days. The road was reopened for traffic on Friday, paving the way for the resumption of the pilgrimage on Saturday.
With the departure of the latest convoy, the cumulative number of pilgrims undertaking the annual pilgrimage this year has reached 1,23,503.
The convoy is being escorted by the CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police under elaborate security arrangements to ensure the safe movement of pilgrims to the Baltal base camp.
