Over 20,000 pilgrims have paid their obeisance at the 3,880-metre high cave shrine till early Monday

The fourth batch of pilgrims left in two back-to-back convoys and were escorted by eight security vehicles and an ambulance between 3.40 am and 4.10 am, the officials said

While 3,030 pilgrims took the 48-km traditional Pahalgam route for their yatra, 1,728 pilgrims took the shorter but steep 14-km Baltal route, they said

With this, a total of 17,565 pilgrims have left the Jammu base camp for the valley since June 30 when Lt Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Jammu, Mukesh Singh on Sunday visited Ramban district along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway and took stock of security at the transit camp in Banihal and en route the shrine, a police spokesman said