3rd Batch Of 5,000 Amarnath Pilgrims Departs Jammu

The third batch of 4,812 Amarnath pilgrims, including 966 women, departed from Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu in two convoys today to join the annual yatra. The 57-day pilgrimage began Friday via the Pahalgam and Baltal routes. On the first day, over 12,000 devotees offered prayers at the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in the Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.