The eighth batch of more than 8000 Shri Amarnath Yatra pilgrims left from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas base camp in Jammu on Thursday for the twin base camps of the cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas amid tight security arrangements.
Officials said that 8150 pilgrims left the Jammu base camp early morning in a fleet of 334 vehicles comprising Light Motor and Heavy Motor Vehicles.
The batch comprised 3445 pilgrims for Baltal and 4705 for Pahalgam. They left for the pilgrimage under a multi-layered security grid, with coordinated arrangements by the civil administration, police, security forces and the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board to ensure the Yatra is conducted safely, securely and smoothly.
Jammu and Kashmir administration has also appealed to the pilgrims to perform the pilgrimage only after confirmed registration and on the scheduled date of yatra as no unregistered pilgrim shall be allowed to proceed to the base camps.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of yatra on July 2 from Jammu.
