“A fresh batch of 311 Yatris left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu city on Saturday evening in a convoy escorted by the security forces for the Valley”, a senior police officer told IANS.
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They said owing to some law and order problem in Anantnag, pilgrims from Jammu were taken to Baltal base camp while others stayed at Qazigund camp. Traffic on this highway moves only during the night.
The yatra continues amid protest in which there have been blocking of the Jammu-Srinagar highway during the day since violence erupted after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani on July 8 last.
The yatra resumed in the morning with fresh batches comprising over 1,800 pilgrims leaving the base camps for the cave shrine, where over 500 pilgrims also offered their prayers, the officials said.
About 2.14 lakh pilgrims have so far paid obeisance at the holy cave since the beginning of the annual yatra on July 1 from Jammu.
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The Yatra will end on August 17 coinciding with Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan festivals. With this, total 21 pilgrims have died during the ongoing yatra. Find us on Facebook too!
