Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir: Amarnath Yatra halted due to incessant rains

The second day of the Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage saw incessant rains and slippery slopes, which led to it arriving at a halt.

The yatra was halted at Baltal and Nunwan base camps. “The yatra has been suspended as of now and no pilgrims are allowed to move towards cave shrine in view of the rainfall and slippery road conditions along Baltal-cave shrine track,” an official told Greater Kashmir.

As a precautionary measure, no pilgrim was allowed to move from either of the base camps, he added. A foot bridge had also reportedly washed away at Brari Marg owing to heavy and incessant rains since yesterday evening.

ALSO READ: Ministry of Home Affairs to directly monitor Amarnath Yatra security

The yatra had earlier been halted due to bad weather but had resumed after the weather had improved in the afternoon. It was officially started early on Thursday, after batches of pilgrims started their progress to the camps on Wednesday. The MeT had forecast rain and thundershowers in the valley for the next 48 hours till Saturday.

The Governor of JK NN Vohra had urged the pilgrims to have faith in the armed forces. Vohra, who is also the chairman of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), told the pilgrims that they should have confidence in the forces.

“There won’t be any difficulty in the yatra,” Vohra said.  In 2017, eight pilgrims were killed and 13 others injured in the attack on an Amarnath yatris bus.

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