Srinagar, Jul 9: The annual Amarnath Yatra is all set to cross the 2-lakh pilgrim mark on Friday, with 28,583 devotees paying obeisance at the holy cave shrine on Thursday.
The eighth batch of 8,150 pilgrims arrived at twin base camps after leaving from Jammu towards Kashmir under tight security arrangements this morning.
Official figures revealed that 28,583 pilgrims paid obeisance at the shrine on Thursday, taking the total number of devotees since the commencement of the pilgrimage on July 3 to 1,71,501.
Among those who performed darshan were 17,004 men, 10,766 women, 298 children, 187 sadhus, 25 sadhvis, besides 303 security personnel.
Meanwhile, 8,150 pilgrims departed from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu in a convoy of 334 vehicles comprising 175 buses, 55 medium motor vehicles (MMVs) and 104 light motor vehicles (LMVs).
Of the total, 3,445 pilgrims are travelling via the Baltal route, while 4,705 pilgrims are heading through the traditional Pahalgam route.
The batch includes 5,663 men, 1,960 women, 15 children, 432 sadhus, 77 sadhvis and three transgender devotees. The Baltal convoy left Jammu at 2:50 am, followed by the Pahalgam convoy at 3:38 am under elaborate security arrangements.
With thousands of pilgrims continuing to arrive in Jammu and fresh batches proceeding towards the Valley every day, officials expect the total number of devotees performing darshan to cross the two lakh mark on Friday, subject to favourable weather and smooth movement along both routes.
The 57-day pilgrimage, which began on July 3, is scheduled to conclude on August 9 on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. (KNO)
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