Amarnath Yatra resumes from Jammu

{image-amarnath yatra_28062008.jpg news.oneindia.in}Jammu, Jun 28: The Amarnath Yatra resumed on Saturday, June 27, a day after it was suspended in the wake of continued strike in Kashmir Valley to resolve the issue over the transfer of forest land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

Authorities allowed a fresh batch of 4,105 pilgrims to leave in a convoy of 126 vehicles for the Amarnath cave shrine from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu. According to official sources, the devotees, including 1034 women and 193 children, left at around 6:15 a.m. Meanwhile, the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was blocked at two places due to a landslide in the Ramban sector.

With this batch, as many as 27,062 pilgrims have left Jammu for the shrine.

The yatra has been suspended thrice for different reasons since June 17.

The pilgrimage ends on August 16.

Security forces have been on a high alert along the entire pilgrimage route to ensure the safety of the pilgrims.

The security setup consists of area domination and setting up of mountain posts by Army, deployments of CRPF and mobile patrolling by armed police.

Every year, a large number of devotees trek the steep, slippery 48-kilometres route to reach the Amarnath cave shrine, which stands at a height of nearly 12,500 feet above sea level.

ANI