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Amarnath Yatra: 3 Pilgrims Injured In Accident On Jammu-Srinagar Highway In Banihal

The tempo-traveller, which was carrying pilgrims to Kashmir from Jammu, met with the accident near the Sherbibi area in Banihal, according to officials.

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Three pilgrims to the Amarnath cave shrine were injured when their vehicle skidded off the Jammu-Srinagar national highway and turned turtle in Ramban district on Friday morning, officials said.

The tempo-traveller, which was carrying pilgrims to Kashmir from Jammu, met with the accident near the Sherbibi area in Banihal, they said.

Kundan Kumar (59) from Uttar Pradesh, Vivek (10) and Anita Gupta (49) from Chhattisgarh were undergoing treatment in Banihal hospital, the officials said.

They were to visit the cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas on July 3. 

The annual Amarnath Yatra began on Thursday as a batch of about 2,750 pilgrims left the base camp here for the cave shrine housing the naturally formed ice-lingam in the south Kashmir Himalayas.

The pilgrimage was flagged off by Deputy Commissioner Piyush Singla at the Nunwan base camp in the Anantnag district's Pahalgam.

The journey, most of it on foot, takes about three days with night halts at Sheeshnag and Panchtarni along the route.

Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has also made a provision for online 'darshan' of the naturally formed ice lingam, officials said.

They said this year, the pilgrimage is expected to see higher-than-usual attendance as it is being held after a gap of three years.

In 2019, the Yatra was cancelled midway ahead of the Centre abrogating Article 370 provisions of the Constitution. The pilgrimage did not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.