Amarnath Yatra was suspended due to bad weather. The decision to temporarily put a hold on the annual pilgrimage was taken by authorities after a spell of heavy rains in the region. The yatra to the holy cave shrine will remain suspended till the weather improves. Soon after the decision to halt the Amarnath Yatra was taken, pilgrims were restricted to move towards the holy cave from the base camps.
As per reports, more than 7,000 pilgrims have been halted at various base camps including Pahalgam, Baltal, and Nunwan due to bad weather. “The yatra has been suspended and no pilgrim is being allowed to move towards the holy cave shrine this morning,” the News agency quoted officials as saying.
Incessant heavy rains have been reported near the holy cave shrine.
The 62-day-long yatra to the Amarnath holy shrine commenced on July 1 this year. The decision to suspend the yatra may have been taken after chaos and deaths of at least 16 people last year following the cloudburst in the region. As per the reports, a batch of 4,600 pilgrims on their way to the Pahalgam base camp has been stopped in Chanderkot, while another group of 2,410 devotees traveling to the Baltal camp has been allowed to proceed.
On Thursday, 17,202 pilgrims paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine, taking the cumulative total of devotees who have had ‘darshan’ of the natural ice lingam formation in the south Kashmir Himalayas to 84,768 so far.
Every year a large number of devotees undertake the arduous annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine located in Kashmir Himalayas to pay obeisance to Holy Ice Shiv Lingam. The Amarnath Yatra forms part of the Char Dham Yatra and it is facilitated under the surveillance of tight security.
Apart from the weather, the terrain on the route to the holy cave shrine makes the pilgrimage one of the most arduous ones.
Since the start of the annual pilgrimage, officials said that the Amarnath cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas has welcomed more than 67,000 pilgrims in the last 5 days. Three people have died this year during the Amarnath pilgrimage, according to officials. On Wednesday, a 38-year-old Rajasthani pilgrim who had been missing for some time was found dead. They stated that Roshan Lal Suthar, a resident of the Pansal Dhileara area of Rajasthan, had been missing since Tuesday and that his body had been discovered close to the lower Holy Cave. According to the authorities, the cause of his death is still unknown.
With inputs from agencies
