Over 2,600 pilgrims leave for Amarnath Yatra

Jammu, July 19 (IANS) A fresh batch of 2,617 pilgrims left Jammu on Thursday for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra.

They left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in an escorted convoy of 81 vehicles for the Kashmir Valley.

The pilgrimage was halted for sometime on Wednesday due to inclement weather. After it resumed, over 7,000 pilgrims had paid their obeisance inside the cave shrine.

The Met has forecast cloudy sky all along the treks leading up to both Baltal and Pahalgam base camps on Thursday.

Apart from the deaths of four pilgrims in a landslide in Brarimarg-Railpathri area of Baltal trek, the pilgrimage in 2018 that started on Jaune 28, has so far been proceeding smoothly.

The 60-day long Yatra will end on August 26 coinciding with the Shravan Purnima festival.