The annual Amarnath Yatra is going on along the twin tracks Pahalgam and Baltal peacefully amid multi-tier security arrangements. An official said on day 11 of the yatra on Monday, 5803 Amarnath pilgrims left from Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu towards the Amarnath holy cave in the Kashmir Himalayas.
An official said that the batch 11th of 5803 yatris left for Valley in 218 vehicles on Monday early morning to reach Pahalgam and Baltal in the Kashmir valley to perform rituals at the Amarnath holy cave.
The yatris who left from Jammu on Monday early morning towards Kashmir escorted by the police and security forces included 4521 men, 1139 women, 09 children, 124 sadhus and 10 sadhvis.
Due to bad weather condition and heavy rainfall in and around the Holy cave Yatra was temporarily suspended on both tracks Baltal and Pahalgam on Saturday. With the improvement in weather, the pilgrims were allowed to leave for the cave shrine.
Through Baltal track 1962 yatries left towards the cave shrine in 88 vehicles and 3941 pilgrims from Pahalgam axis in 130 vehicles.
The Amarnath cave is situated 3,888 metres above sea level and it can only be reached on foot or by pony. Located deep inside the Himalayas, the cave shrine can be accessed through the Anantnag-Pahalgam axis and the Ganderbal-Sonamarg-Baltal axis.
Most yatries take the Baltal route, a shorter 16 km trek from Baltal to the shrine along a steep, winding mountain trail. This route takes pilgrims 1-2 days.
The other is the Pahalgam route, which is approximately 36-48 km from the cave and takes 3-5 days to cover. While this is a longer journey, it is a littler easier and less steep.
The 52-day Amarnath Yatra started on 29 June and is scheduled to end19. Last year, the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha led Jammu and Kashmir administration called off the yatra a week before scheduled due to lack of yatris.
