The Amarnath Yatra was suspended on Friday amid inclement weather conditions after rain lashed many parts of Kashmir, according to officials.
The yatra was suspended along both the Baltal and Pahalgam routes, said officials. “The yatra has been suspended and no pilgrim is being allowed to move towards the holy cave shrine this morning,” The Hindu quoted an official as saying.
According to Mohita Sharma the senior superintendent of police, Ramban, the yatra has been suspended in the district’s Chanderkote area.
Sharma was quoted by PTI as saying, “The yatra has been suspended due to inclement weather in the Pahalgam belt.”
Officials mentioned that heavy showers which started early on Friday forced the temporary suspension of the pilgrimage. Pilgrims have been stopped at the Baltal and the Nunwan base camps.
While a batch of 4,600 pilgrims on its way to Pahalgam base camp have been stopped in Chanderkot, another group of 2,410 devotees travelling to the Baltal camp has been allowed to proceed, informed officials.
They said that the yatra will resume as soon as the weather conditions improve.
It may be noted that as many as 17,202 pilgrims paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine on Thursday taking the total devotees count to 84,768, who have had ‘darshan’ of the natural ice lingam formation in the south Kashmir Himalayas.
The annual pilgrimage yatra to the 3,888 metre high cave shrine commenced from the twin tracks of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in the Ganderbal district on July 1 and is scheduled to end to August 31.
