Nearly 48,000 devotees have participated in the ongoing Amarnath Yatra over the past three days, amid tight security arrangements.
According to officials, over 21,000 Yatris had darshan inside the holy cave shrine on Saturday. On Sunday morning, another group of 7,208 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu in two escorted convoys bound for the Kashmir Valley.
“The first convoy is heading to the Baltal base camp in North Kashmir, while the second is en route to the Nunwan (Pahalgam) base camp in South Kashmir,” officials said.
The Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), which oversees the annual pilgrimage, noted that in addition to the pilgrims arriving at the Jammu base camp, many devotees are reporting directly to the Baltal and Nunwan base camps for on-spot registration.
Meanwhile, 36 pilgrims sustained minor injuries on Saturday when five vehicles in a Valley-bound convoy collided near Chandrakote in Jammu’s Ramban district.
In the wake of the horrific April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, security for this year’s Yatra has been significantly ramped up.
An additional 180 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) have been deployed to augment the presence of the Army, BSF, CRPF, SSB, and local police. All transit camps along the route and the entire stretch from Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar to the cave shrine are under tight security cover.
Locals have extended full cooperation to the Amarnath Yatra, as they have consistently done in the past. In a heartwarming gesture that sent a strong message against terrorism, residents of Kashmir welcomed the first batch of Yatris with garlands and placards at Qazigund, near the Navyug Tunnel, as they entered the Valley.
This year’s Amarnath Yatra began on July 3 and will conclude after 38 days on August 9, coinciding with Shravan Purnima and the Raksha Bandhan festival.
(IANS)
from National https://ift.tt/5usPqL1