Braving inclement weather, over 6,000 pilgrims on Thursday paid obeisance at Amarnath amid tight security, while a man was killed by a shooting stone en route the cave shrine raising the toll to two.
The second batch of 2,481 pilgrims, comprising 1,638 males, 663 females and 180 sages, left from Jammu in 66 vehicles for the twin base camps of the yatra.
A police officer said the pilgrims are being escorted by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel.
"The pilgrimage began early this morning under overcast conditions from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal. "As many as 6,097 pilgrims performed 'darshan' of the naturally formed ice-lingam at the 3,880 metre high holy cave shrine on the first day," an official spokesman said.
This year, the Amarnath yatra will be eight days shorter than last year's 48 days and will conclude on Shravan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan) on August 7.
Intermittent rains lashed wide parts of Kashmir including the yatra route since Wednesday, resulting in considerable drop in day and night temperatures.
Jammu & Kashmir Governor NN Vohra, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) — which manages the affairs of the yatra — was among the first to reach the cave shrine.
He paid obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine and participated in the 'Pratham Pooja' ceremony. Vohra prayed for sustained peace, harmony, progress and prosperity in the state, the spokesman said.
