Amarnath Yatra 2023: Amid the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, the fifth batch of over 6,500 pilgrims left Jammu for base camps in Kashmir on Tuesday. From the twin trails of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district, the 62-day annual pilgrimage to the 3,888-meter-high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas began on July 1.
According to officials, the yatra is going smoothly and devotees from all over the country are swarming the base camps to have a view of the naturally formed ice-shivlingam and offer their prayers. The officials also claimed that the pilgrim footfall at the shrine is likely to cross the 50,000 mark later in the day.
They further said as many as 4,475 pilgrims, headed for Pahalgam, left in a convoy of 160 vehicles for the valley at around 4.10 am, while another convoy of 93 vehicles carrying 2,122 pilgrims was the first to leave for the Baltal base camp at 3.40 am.
With this, a total of 24,162 pilgrims have left the Jammu base camp for the valley since June 30, the day the first batch of pilgrims was flagged off by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
Preparations for the Yatra
All the pilgrims will be given RFID cards so that their real-time location can be traced and everyone will be given Rs 5 lakh insurance cover. In 2022, 3.45 lakh people visited the holy cave and this year, the figure is expected to shoot up to 5 lakh, sources said.
The National Disaster Response Force has started identifying ideal locations for setting up pilgrim camps to avoid any incident like last year's flash flood which claimed 16 lives near the shrine. The aerial surveys may be conducted by a team with expertise in remote sensing and satellite, hydrology and disaster response.
(With PTI inputs)
