look news india
Jammu, 06 August (HS). Another batch of 1,873 pilgrims left for Kashmir from Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu on Tuesday. On Monday, due to the fifth anniversary of the abolition of Article 370, no pilgrim was allowed to proceed from all the base camps due to security reasons. In the last 38 days, about 5 lakh devotees have visited Baba Barfani in the holy cave of Amarnath.
The group of 1,873 pilgrims includes 1579 men, 202 women, 65 sadhus and 27 sadhvis. All of them left for Baltal base camp from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas at 3:30 am in 69 vehicles amid tight security.
The Amarnath holy cave is located at an altitude of 3,888 metres above sea level in the Kashmir Himalayas. Pilgrims reach the cave shrine via the traditional south Kashmir Pahalgam route or the north Kashmir Baltal route. The length of the Pahalgam-cave shrine route is 48 kilometres and pilgrims take 4-5 days to reach the shrine. The length of the Baltal-cave shrine route is 14 kilometres and pilgrims take a day to visit and return to the base camp. Helicopter services are also available for pilgrims at Baltal on the north Kashmir route and Chandanwari on the south Kashmir route. This year's yatra will conclude after 52 days on August 19 coinciding with the Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan festivals.
