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Amarnath yatra resumes after 2-day halt
A total of 4,026 pilgrims left in the 12th batch from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in a convoy of 110 vehicles amid heavy security of the Central Reservice Police Force (CRPF), officials said
The Amarnath Yatra, which remained suspended for two days after 16 people were killed in a flash flood near the holy cave last week, resumed on Monday as over 4,000 pilgrims left Jammu for the base camps of the 3,880-metre high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.
As many as 40 people continued to remain missing since the flash flood on June 8, which was triggered by a cloudburst, with officials giving up hope of finding survivors and the Army pressing heavy machinery into service to restore the yatra route.
“The Amarnath Yatra resumed from Yatri Niwas base camp in Jammu city on Monday morning. A total of 4,026 pilgrims left in the 12th batch from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas here in a convoy of 110 vehicles amid heavy security of the Central Reservice Police Force (CRPF)” an official aware of the details said.
A total of 1,016 pilgrims heading for Baltal were the first to leave the Bhagwati Nagar camp in 35 vehicles at around 3.30 am followed by the second convoy of 75 vehicles carrying 2,425 pilgrims for Pahalgam at 4.30 am, the official said.
A fresh batch of pilgrims was also allowed from Nunwan base camp on Pahalgam route Monday morning. The pilgrims are scheduled to reach the holy cave on Tuesday morning, the official said.
The annual 43-day pilgrimage, which began on June 30, is being held after two years. It is held from two routes – traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag and 14-km shorter Baltal in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal.
The yatra was disrupted on Friday after a sudden cloudburst dumped an enormous volume of water in the upper reaches that caused a flashflood and landslides, sweeping away the pilgrim camp below the cave shrine in an unprecedented tragedy in the remote region of the Himalayas.
Rescue operations supervised by the army and state disaster response force (SDRF) continued near the cave and its adjoining areas.
“Specialised mountain and avalanche rescue teams have been continuously working to find any possible survivor in the snow bridge near the cave complex. After the decision was taken to resume the Yatra from Monday, there was an immediate need to create a different route to the holy cave for the yatris away from the water channel,” defense spokesperson Emron Masuvi said.
Haseeb ur Rehman, director of SDRF and Civil Defense, said the rescue operation is underway. “Efforts are on to trace the missing,” Rehman said.
Most of the injured pilgrims, who were airlifted to SKIMS hospital in Srinagar, have been discharged after treatment, hospital’s medical superintendent Farooq Jan said.
“All other injured pilgrims have been discharged. Discharged. Only three yatris are still in the hospital and are in stable condition. They will be discharged in a day or two,” Jan said.
Meanwhile, the army has constructed a makeshift staircase outside the holy cave. The path leading to the cave shrine was damaged due to the landslides last week.
“In view of #Yatra resuming from #Pahalgam Axis today, a stairway towards approach to the #Holy cave has been made overnight to facilitate #Yatris,” Army’s Chinar Corps tweeted.
Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), which looks after the Amarnath Shrine, said bookings were available for direct Heli services between Srinagar and Panjtarni for the pilgrims.
Earlier, the Heli services were available from Srinagar to Neelgrath/Pahalgam from where the pilgrims would require a separate ticket for Panjtarni.
“Now, through the link www.heliservices.jksasb.nic.in, direct tickets can be booked from Srinagar to Panjtarni and Panjtarni to Srinagar. The one-way fare from Srinagar to Panjtarni is ₹14,500,” a government spokesperson said.
