Amarnath yatra resumed on Monday from the twin routes of Baltal and Pahalgam after remaining suspended for a day due to inclement weather, with over 20,000 pilgrims leaving base camps to offer prayers at the cave shrine.
The yatra also resumed from the Jammu base camp as a fresh batch of 6,564 pilgrims left for the cave shrine from here. The yatra was suspended on July 2 due to bad weather.
With Monday’s batch, as many as 15,311 pilgrims have left Jammu for their onward journey to Amarnath cave shrine.
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The yatra was resumed from Jammu today after two-days of suspension. Authorities decided to allow the yatris from here after reviewing the situation this morning, police said.
Fresh batches of pilgrims were allowed to move from the base camps of Nunwan in Pahalgam area of Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district this morning following improvement in weather, an official said.
While 13,735 pilgrims were allowed to proceed towards the cave from the shortest 13-km Baltal route, another batch of 6,699 devotees left Nunwan base camp along the traditional 46-km Pahalgam route this morning, he said.
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The yatra was suspended yesterday after heavy rains triggered landslides, rendering the track unsafe.
Due to suspension of the yatra, several thousand pilgrims were stranded in Kathua, Samba, Bari-Brahamana, Nagrota, Udhampur and Ramban areas along the Jammu—Srinagar national highway.
Following the heavy rush of pilgrims at Jammu, administration has opened JMC banquet halls, besides setting up some camps at Kathua, Samba, Nagrota and Udhampur.
“We have provided stranded pilgrims food and shelter at Kathua, Samba, Jammu and Udhampur. Authorities are helping them,” Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Zone, Pawan Kotwal said.
Irate over the traffic closure and jams, passengers and pilgrims held protest demonstrations at Jammu bypass, Nagrota, Udhampur and Lakhanpur areas here yesterday.
They raised anti-government slogans and demanded restoration of traffic on the highway with immediate effect.
Meanwhile, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has decided not to allow any unregistered pilgrim for the yatra from today due to unprecedented rush.
A 32-year-old pilgrim identified as U Solanki died of cardiac arrest at the cave shrine late last night, the official said.
So far, as many as 13 pilgrims have died during the course of yatra.
A record number of over one lakh devotees have paid their obeisance at the cave shrine since the commencement of the yatra on June 29.