Amarnath Yatra remains suspended due to rain

The Amarnath Yatra was suspended from Jammu on Thursday as no fresh batch for either for Pahalgam or Baltal routes was allowed to proceed towards the cave shrine in south Kashmir due to inclement weather and slippery tracks on the twin route.

No pilgrim has departed the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas for the cave shrine, additional district magistrate Jammu Arun Manhas said. “Due to inclement weather the Amarnath Yatra from the base camp Yatri Niwas (at Bhagwatinagar) via both the Baltal and Pahalgam routes will remain suspended,” he said.

Rains also triggered multiple landslides on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.

Meanwhile, a batch of 2,030 pilgrims for Pahalgam route that left from Jammu on Wednesday morning could not proceed beyond Udhampur, 65 kilometers from Jammu. The convoy left for their onward journey on Thursday morning.

It is learnt that around 20,000 pilgrims in Baltal area and 10,000 are camping in the Pahalgam area are waiting for their trunk to proceed towards the holy cave as and when the weather improves. However, limited helicopter services functioned from twin route.

The death toll in the ongoing yatra has reached to 11, with four pilgrims and a helper were killed and seven others hurt in a landslide that hit the Brarimarg-Railpathri stretch of the trek from Baltal to the cave shrine on July 3.

Meanwhile, Home minister Rajnath Singh could not visit the holy cave due to bad weather.