Amarnath Yatra: 23,000 Pilgrims At Base Camps Moved Out Of Valley

Jammu: About 23,000 pilgrims stranded at base camps after darshan at Amarnath shrine have been moved out to Jammu from where they will return to their homes. At least 15,000 pilgrims were still stranded in Jammu for third day on Monday after the clashes began in the Kashmir Valley on Friday.

Around 2,000 pilgrims who were stuck on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway are now being escorted to the Baltal base camp located about 120 km from state capital Srinagar, which is under curfew as are all 10 districts of the Kashmir Valley after violent protests against the death of terrorist Burhan Wani of the Hizbul Mujahideen, who was killed in an intelligence-led police operation on Friday.

The arterial highway that connects the Valley with Jammu has been closed since Saturday, trains have been stopped and internet services are down. The pilgrims or yatris were moved out to Jammu via the highway on buses with police escort.
 Those pilgrims who are now reaching Jammu from other parts of the country for the yatra, are likely to be taken to the Valley tonight, sources said.

20 people have died in the clashes with security personnel in many places in the Valley, one of them a policeman, whose official car was pushed into the Jhelum river by a mob. Protesters have also set on fire police stations and government buildings.

About 300 civilians and 100 security personnel have been injured in stone throwing by protesters.  

Over 60,000 have performed darshan last week in batches in a trek up to the cave shrine from base camps in Baltal in north Kashmir and Pahalgam in south Kashmir. Since July 2, when the Amarnath Yatra began for this year, more than 1.2 lakh devotees have performed the yatra, the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board has said.

8,611 pilgrims who had already reached the base camps had darshan on Sunday, a board official said.