First batch of Amarnath pilgrims flagged off from Jammu amid tight security

Amid tight security, the first batch of nearly 3000 pilgrims today left the base camp here for the annual 60-day pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas. They will reach the twin base camps later in the day and would start their onward journey to the 3,880 metre high cave shrine by foot on Thursday, marking the commencement of the pilgrimage.