The ninth batch of 4,095 pilgrims today left for the 3,888-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine situated in south Kashmir of Himalayas.
The pilgrims comprising 2,910 men, 836 women, 197 children and 152 sadhus left in a cavalcade of 132 vehicles from Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu at around 0500 hours, police said.
The convoy has already crossed Patnitop on Jammu-Srinagar national highway towards the base camp of Pahalgam in Kashmir Valley. With today’s batch, as many as 27,772 pilgrims have left Jammu for their onward journey to the Amarnath cave shrine.
Meanwhile, 19 Devotees have died on the Way to holy Amarnath Shrine taking the death toll to 19. Megha Gupta, aged 24 years, a resident of Chandigarh, suffered a massive heart attack at Pahalgam last night while on her way to the Amarnath cave shrine, police said.
64-year-old Jagbir Singh from Haryana and Rinku (55) from Tamil Nadu died at Sonamarg on shorter Baltal route, they said.
Hailing from Madhya Pradesh, 83-year-old Babu Singh died at Baltal base camp after paying obeisance at 3,880-mt high shrine housing the naturally-formed ice lingam of Lord Shiva.