After a six-day suspension, the annual Amarnath Yatra and the pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine resumed on Saturday.
The Amarnath pilgrimage restarted with a fresh batch of 6,269 devotees leaving the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas base camp in Jammu for Baltal following an improvement in weather conditions, officials said.
“Following improvement in weather conditions, the 18th batch of pilgrims, comprising 6,269 devotees—including 1,470 women, 25 children, and 54 sadhus—left in a convoy of 223 vehicles under tight security at 2.40am,” Jammu divisional commissioner Ramesh Kumar said, adding no convoy was despatched for the Pahalgam route.
Divisional commissioner Kashmir, Anshul Garg, said that the Amarnath Yatra will continue exclusively through the Baltal axis, while the Pahalgam axis remains temporarily closed for pilgrims due to urgent repair and maintenance necessitated by recent rainfall. “To ensure the uninterrupted continuation of the Yatra, comprehensive arrangements have been made on the Baltal axis for the safe and smooth movement of pilgrims,” Garg said, adding that restoration work along the Pahalgam route is being carried out urgently.
In tandem, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra from Katra also resumed after remaining suspended for six straight days due to heavy rainfall and risks of flash floods and landslides. Authorities declared the route safe after a comprehensive review of the tracks, bringing life back to Katra base camp, which had worn a deserted look during the weather shutdown. Pilgrims have been advised by the shrine board to strictly adhere to weather advisories and safety guidelines as movement picks up.
{{/usCountry}}In tandem, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra from Katra also resumed after remaining suspended for six straight days due to heavy rainfall and risks of flash floods and landslides. Authorities declared the route safe after a comprehensive review of the tracks, bringing life back to Katra base camp, which had worn a deserted look during the weather shutdown. Pilgrims have been advised by the shrine board to strictly adhere to weather advisories and safety guidelines as movement picks up.
{{/usCountry}}The Amarnath Yatra had been suspended on July 19 as a precautionary measure following persistent rainfall and adverse weather conditions across Jammu and Kashmir, particularly along the twin pilgrimage routes—the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district leading to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine.
The annual pilgrimage is scheduled to conclude on August 28, coinciding with the festival of Raksha Bandhan.
Nearly four lakh pilgrims have so far paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine, while around 1.2 lakh pilgrims have undertaken the pilgrimage from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu.
Meanwhile, following improvement in weather conditions and a lull in rains on Friday, the 250-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway reopened for traffic by Friday evening after remaining suspended for three days.
However, the meteorological department has forecast light to moderate rain and thundershowers at many places, with isolated heavy showers in Jammu division from July 28 to 31.