Amarnath Yatra crosses 4.76 lakh mark

Qazigund, Aug 7: With 21 days left for the conclusion of the annual Amarnath Yatra, 5,095 pilgrims paid obeisance at the Holy Cave Shrine on Friday, taking the total number of devotees who have performed darshan this year to 4,76,683.
According to official figures, 2,871 men, 1,544 women, 25 children, 61 sadhus, eight sadhvis, three transgender devotees and 583 security personnel completed the Yatra on Friday.
The 29th batch of 926 pilgrims passed through the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway under a multi-layer security arrangement en route to the Baltal base camp.
The batch had left Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu early Friday in a 42-vehicle convoy comprising 21 buses, three MMVs, 17 LMVs and one two-wheeler. It included 693 men, 178 women, 34 sadhus and 21 sadhvis towards the Baltal base camp as the Pahalgam route remains closed.
On the return journey, the 27th down convoy carrying 133 pilgrims left the Baltal base camp for Jammu in seven vehicles. The returning batch comprised 110 men, 21 women and two children, officials said.
The 57-day annual pilgrimage began on July 3 and is scheduled to conclude on August 28. (KNO)