Jammu July 27 (IANS) A small batch of 201 pilgrims left Jammu on Friday for the Kashmir Valley to perform the Amarnath Yatra.
They left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in an escorted convoy of nine vehicles the police said.
This is the smallest batch to leave for holy cave shrine so far since the pilgrimage started on June 28.
Till date nearly 2 50 000 pilgrims have paid their obeisance to the "Lingam"
Except for the vagaries of weather in which four pilgrims were killed by a landslide the "yatra" has been proceeding smoothly in 2018.
Reports from the cave shrine indicate that the ice stalagmite structure called the Lingam has melted completely due to the large number of devotees visiting the cave.
The pilgrimage will come to a close on August 26 coinciding with the Shravan Purnima festival.

--IANS
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