Fresh batch of 769 pilgrims leaves for Amarnath shrine

JAMMU: A fresh batch comprising 769 pilgrims today started for the 3,880 metre-high cave shrine of Amarnath in the south Kashmir Himalayas amidst tight security.

The batch consisting of 575 men, 137 women, seven children besides 50 sadhus left in a motorcade comprising 24 vehicles from Bhagwati Nagar base camp here at 04:55 AM, a police official said.

The convoy has already reached Banihal on the Jammu- Srinagar national highway.

With the inclusion of today's batch, as many as 39,084 pilgrims have so far left from the Jammu base camp for the Amarnath shrine.