Amarnath yatra: batch of 1,996 pilgrims leave

Amid tight security, a fresh batch of 1,996 pilgrims on Wednesday left for the Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.

The pilgrims comprising 1,392 men, 367 women, 39 children and 198 ‘sadhus’ left in a cavalcade of 60 vehicles from Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu at around 0500 hours for Amarnath.

The convoy of yatra has already crossed Chanderkote on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway towards base camps of Pahalgam in Kashmir Valley.

With Wednesday’s batch, as many as 80,646 pilgrims have left Jammu for their onward journey to the cave shrine.