Srinagar: The ongoing Amarnath Yatra has so far witnessed 93,336 pilgrims offering prayers at the holy cave in the first five days, with Monday alone seeing a record-breaking 23,857 yatris, the highest single-day turnout this season.
Amid tight security arrangements, the sixth batch comprising 8,605 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu on Monday morning marking the largest convoy deployment of the Yatra so far. The batch included 6,486 men, 1,826 women, 42 children, 216 sadhus, and 35 sadhvis, and traveled in 372 vehicles, including 179 buses. Of them, 3,486 opted for the Baltal route and 5,119 for Pahalgam.
Officials attributed the rising turnout to improved weather, smooth logistics, and multi-layered security across the Baltal and Pahalgam tracks. Since the Yatra began on July 3, the daily footfall has consistently grown — from 12,348 on day one to over 23,000 on day five.
With large crowds queuing for spot registrations in Jammu and over 3.5 lakh already registered online, the total pilgrim count is expected to cross the one lakh mark on Tuesday.
To accommodate the growing rush, twelve spot registration counters and 34 accommodation centers have been set up across Jammu, along with lodgement facilities for over 50,000 yatris between Lakhanpur and Banihal.
This year, 180 CAPF companies have been deployed — 30 more than previous years to ensure the safety and smooth conduct of the 38-day pilgrimage, which concludes on August 9.
With inputs from the agencies
