A fresh batch of 3,451 pilgrims on Friday left Jammu to perform the Amarnath Yatra. They left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in an escorted convoy of 110 vehicles and headed to the Baltal and Pahalgam base camps, police said.
Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N.Vohra, who heads the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) that manages the pilgrimage, has sanctioned a cash relief of Rs 3 lakh each for the next of kin of all pilgrims who might die in accidents during this year’s Yatra.
The pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here in two separate convoys for the twin base camps of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district in the early hours, a police official said.
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Five pilgrims have died in a shooting stone accident in Brarimarg-Railpathri area of Baltal trek while three have died in road accidents so far since the annual pilgrimage began on June 28. It will end on August 26 coinciding with the Shravan Purnima festival.
While 2,281 pilgrims are performing the yatra from the traditional 36-km Pahalgam track, 1,170 pilgrims have opted for the shortest 12-km Baltal route. The official said the pilgrims left in 110 vehicles amid rains which lashed wide parts of the state this morning.
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