Banihal, Jul 11: The 10th batch of pilgrims undertaking the annual Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra-2026 left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu during the early hours of Saturday amid elaborate security arrangements. A total of 9,182 pilgrims departed for the twin base camps of Baltal and Pahalgam in a convoy of 333 vehicles, officials said.
According to the Joint Police Control Room at Bhagwati Nagar Base Camp, the Baltal-bound convoy, carrying 3,305 pilgrims, left Jammu at 2:43 a.m., while the Pahalgam-bound convoy, comprising 5,877 pilgrims, departed at 3:31 a.m.
The batch includes 6,455 male pilgrims, 2,389 female pilgrims, 31 children, 256 sadhus, 46 sadhvis, and five transgender pilgrims. No foreign pilgrims were part of the 10th batch, the official figures showed.
Officials said the pilgrims were travelling in 196 buses, 43 medium motor vehicles (MMVs), 91 light motor vehicles (LMVs), and three two-wheelers, taking the total number of pilgrims who have departed from Jammu since the beginning of this year’s pilgrimage to 70,794.
The convoy was escorted by personnel of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, CRPF and other security agencies, with senior officers supervising the movement to ensure the safe passage of pilgrims along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.
The annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine in the Himalayas is continuing smoothly under a multi-tier security grid, with authorities maintaining round-the-clock monitoring and comprehensive arrangements for the safety, health and convenience of the pilgrims.
