Amid tight security arrangements, a sixth batch of 4,307 pilgrims today left the Jammu base camp for their onward journey to the 13,500-feet high cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas.

With today's batch, as many as 19,618 pilgrims have left Jammu for their onward journey to the cave shrine.The yatra was yesterday resumed from Jammu after remaining suspended for two days due to inclement weather and heavy rush of pilgrims. Elaborate arrangements were put in place for Amarnath pilgrims in Udhampur by the district administration.

Meanwhile, the decision of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) to allocate some tickets for helicopter service for the annual yatra to travel and tourism associations has resulted in the pilgrims being overcharged for the service.

The SASB has notified the rates for the helicopter service for both Baltal and Pahalgam routes leading to the 3880-metre high cave shrine but many pilgrims have complained that they were being charged 30 to 45 per cent higher by travel agents.

“I was shocked when a travel agent asked me to pay Rs 9,000 for a return ticket on Pahalgam route and Rs 7,000 for Baltal route,” A K Tiwari, a pilgrim from Uttar Pradesh, told reporters. The normal return fare for the traditional Pahalgam route set by the SASB is Rs 6,900 person while for the shorter Baltal route is Rs Rs 4850 per person.