JAMMU, Aug 6 (Agencies): The annual Amarnath Yatra resumed on Thursday after remaining suspended for a day as a precautionary security measure ahead of the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370.
According to the Joint Police Control Room, Bhagwati Nagar Jammu, the 28th batch of pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas at 2:45 a.m. for the Baltal base camp under tight security arrangements. No convoy was dispatched on the Pahalgam axis.
Officials said a total of 1,801 pilgrims, including 1,347 men, 351 women, 89 sadhus and 14 sadhvis, departed for Baltal in a convoy comprising 74 vehicles. The convoy included 40 buses (37+3), 12 medium motor vehicles (MMVs), 19 light motor vehicles (LMVs), and three two-wheelers.
The convoy was escorted by personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) with adequate security arrangements in place throughout the journey.
With the departure of the latest batch, the total number of pilgrims who have left Jammu for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra this year has reached 1,43,513, officials said.
The Yatra had remained suspended on Wednesday as a precautionary measure in view of heightened security arrangements ahead of the anniversary of the August 5, 2019 constitutional changes. Pilgrims already present at the Baltal base camp, however, had been allowed to proceed to the Holy Cave shrine for darshan as per the scheduled movement.