Amid tight security, another batch of over 900 pilgrims on Saturday left for Buddha Amarnath shrine in Poonch district from the base camp in Jammu, officials said. The Buddha Amarnath Yatra resumed on Friday after a gap of two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A batch of 950 pilgrims, comprising 763 men, 185 women and 4 children, left in 22 vehicles from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu for the shrine amid tight security, they said. The yatra will culminate on August 8 with the departure of ‘Chari Mubarak’ from Shri Dashnami Akhara Poonch.
The temple of Baba Buddha Amarnath dedicated to Lord Shiva is also known as "Chattani Baba Amarnath temple" and is located 290 kilometres North-West of Jammu. Standing 4,600 feet above sea level, the shrine is located amid picturesque surroundings.
Multi-tier security has been put in place at the shrine and en route to ensure an incident-free yatra this year, officials said.
The yatra is being held in the backdrop of the busting of several modules of terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Jammu, Rajouri and Reasi districts of the Jammu region, apart from the recovery of a huge cache of arms and explosive material and arrests of members of modules last week.
(With PTI Inputs)
