Jammu, July 31 (IANS): The annual Amarnath Yatra continued on Sunday as another batch of pilgrims left Jammu on Saturday evening for Kashmir.

"A fresh batch of 311 Yatris left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu city on Saturday evening in a convoy escorted by the security forces for the Valley", a senior police officer told IANS.

Authorities of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) that manages the affairs of the annual Hindu pilgrimage to Himalayan cave shrine, said so far 2,12,822 pilgrims have performed this year's Yatra.

The Yatra started on July 2 and will end on August 17 coinciding with Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan festivals.

A total of 21 pilgrims have died during this year's pilgrimage.

The number of pilgrims arriving in Jammu has steadily decreased ever since the ongoing cycle of violence started in the Valley on July 9, a day after Hizbal commander Burhan Wani was killed in a gunfight.

Despite the highly surcharged law and order situation in the Valley, the Amarnath Yatra has been proceeding smoothly.