Amid tight security escort, the fifteenth batch of pilgrims of over 5,000 devotees left Jammu on Thursday for the twin base camps of the annual Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir.More than 3.25 lakh pilgrims have offered prayers at the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine till now.
The fresh batch of pilgrims 5,201 had 92 sadhus, nine sadhvis, 3970 men, 1124 women, 5 children, and one transperson left in a convoy of 251 vehicles escorted by CRPF and police.
Officials said the convoy departed in two separate groups. The Baltal convoy, carrying 1,745 pilgrims in 74 vehicles left at 3 am, while the Pahalgam convoy, comprising 3,456 pilgrims in 177 vehicles, departed at 3.30 am, they said.
With Thursday's departure, a total of 1,04,488 pilgrims have left the Jammu base camp for Kashmir since the yatra commenced on July 2.
The Bhagwati Nagar base camp echoed with chants of "Bam Bam Bhole", "Har Har Mahadev" and "Jai Barfani Baba Ki" as devotees set out on the pilgrimage. Many pilgrims expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made for the smooth conduct of the yatra.
The 57-day annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine is scheduled to conclude on August 28.