Eight CRPF personnel en route to Amarnath shrine hurt in mishap

PTI

Srinagar, July 16

As many as eight Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were injured when their vehicle fell into the Sindh nullah in Ganderbal when they were on their way to the Amarnath shrine via Baltal route on Sunday. The injured were rescued and taken to the Baltal base camp hospital, officials said.

At the same time, the toll in the ongoing Amarnath Yatra has climbed to 27 with two more deaths. Urmilaben Modi (53) died after she was hit by a shooting stone on the lower side of the cave shrine of Amarnath on Saturday, officials said. Two mountain rescue team personnel and another pilgrim sustained injuries in the incident.

14th devotees’ batch leaves Jammu

• The 14th batch comprising 6,600 pilgrims left for Kashmir amid rain and tight security in a convoy of 241 vehicles on Sunday.
• Over 2.15 lakh devotees have so far visited the holy cave shrine, situated at a height of 3,880 metres in South Kashmir Himalayas.

In another incident, Meghnath (65) of Chhattisgarh, was found unconscious at Pissutop along the Pahalgam route to the shrine on Sunday. He was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

From Jammu, another batch of over 6,600 pilgrims left for Kashmir amid rain and tight security in a convoy of 241 vehicles. Over 2.15 lakh devotees have so far visited the holy cave shrine, situated at a height of 3,880 metres in South Kashmir Himalayas, since the beginning of the 62-day-long Yatra on July 1.

The pilgrim convoy left for the two base camps, Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal district, amid moderate rains which went on for hours drenching several parts of Jammu and leaving many roads waterlogged. According to an official, 3,686 pilgrims left for the Pahalgam base camp in 132 vehicles, while 2,998 pilgrims were heading for Baltal in 109 vehicles.

With the latest dispatch, a total of 86,865 pilgrims have left the Jammu base camp for the Valley since June 30, the day the first batch of pilgrims was flagged off by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

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