Amarnath Yatra from Jammu suspended due to inclement weather

The Amarnath Yatra was suspended from Jammu on Friday due to inclement weather and rain-triggered landslides on the 270-km-long Jammu-Srinagar national highway at Ramban

The Amarnath Yatra was suspended from Jammu on Friday due to inclement weather and rain-triggered landslides on the 270-km-long Jammu-Srinagar national highway at Ramban.

While no fresh batch was allowed to leave the base camp in Jammu city, around 5,000 devotees, who were staying at the Yatri Niwas in Ramban, were permitted to proceed for the Pahalgam and Baltal base camps, following one-way restoration of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. (ANI)

While no fresh batch was allowed to leave the base camp in Jammu city, around 5,000 devotees, who were staying at the Yatri Niwas in Ramban, were permitted to proceed for the Pahalgam and Baltal base camps, following one-way restoration of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.

A duty officer at the base camp in Bhagwati Nagar, Jammu, said, “No fresh batch of pilgrims left the Yatri Niwas base camp in Jammu city on Friday morning due to inclement weather and the bad state of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. They will be allowed to proceed on Saturday morning, subject to the green signal from higher authorities.”

Additional deputy magistrate, Ramban, Harbans Lal Sharma, who is also the nodal officer for Amarnath Yatra, said, “Nearly 5,000 Amarnath pilgrims, who had reached Ramban from Jammu on Thursday and were staying in Yatri Niwas at Chanderkote, were allowed to proceed to the Pahalgam and Baltal base camps in Kashmir following one-way restoration of the highway. Their convoys left around 8.30am.

The highway was reopened for one-way traffic on Thursday night after its closure due to landslides and shooting stones triggered by heavy rain at several places in Ramban. The yatra had also been suspended from Jammu due to bad weather on July 10, and was resumed on July 11.

As many as 1,24,714 pilgrims have left for the Valley from Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar base camp since June 29. The yatra is slated to conclude on August 11. Around 50 pilgrims have lost their lives during the course of the pilgrimage so far, including the 15 pilgrims who lost their lives in flash floods at the cave shrine on July 1.

Officials review arrangements for Baba Budha Amarnath Yatra

Jammu Divisional commissioner Ramesh Kumar and additional director general of police Mukesh Singh on Friday met members of the civil society and officers concerned to review arrangements for the annual Baba Budha Amarnath Yatra, which takes place in Poonch’s Mandi area.

Security, transport arrangements for pilgrims, langers, medical facilities, sanitation, water and power supply, traffic, lodging and boarding of pilgrims were taken up during the meeting.

Deputy commissioner, Poonch, apprised the divisional commissioner that around 12 places with a capacity to accommodate 4,000 people had been identified.

The meeting was attended by director tourism Vivekanand Rai, Jammu deputy commissioner Avny Lavasa, and senior officers of police, traffic, health, allied departments and members of Baba Amarnath and Budha Amarnath Yatri Niyas among others. Deputy commissioners of Poonch, Rajouri and Reasi and SSPs attended the meeting virtually.

The yatra, which will take place after a two-year hiatus, will commence on July 29 from Yatri Niwas Bhagwati Nagar, Jammu.