Amarnath Yatra resumes after day-long suspension; 5 lakh pilgrims pay obeisance to Holy Cave so far
Srinagar, Aug 6: The ongoing Amarnath Yatra will be allowed only on Baltal route as traditional route through Pahalgam will remain closed for maintenance works from Wednesday, a statement said.
“Due to the recent rains, urgent repair and maintenance works are required to be carried out on the Pahalgam axis of Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra. The Yatra shall continue from the Baltal axis,” Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) said in a statement.
The yatra shall continue smoothly through the Baltal axis for which adequate arrangements have been ensured, the SASB said.
After being suspended for a day, the Amarnath Yatra resumed on Tuesday with more than 1,800 pilgrims leaving the Jammu base camp for the holy cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.
More than 4.90 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine so far this year against 4.50 lakh in 2023.
The 39th batch of 1,873 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu at 3:25 am in a convoy of 69 vehicles escorted by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and police, the officials said.
The yatra was halted on Monday as a precautionary measure in view of the fifth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370.
Meanwhile, the number of pilgrims who paid obeisance to Lord Shiva at Amarnath Cave Shrine in this year's Yatra has crossed the five-lakh mark as more than 2,800 pilgrims visited the naturally formed ice ‘lingam' on Tuesday.
The 52-day pilgrimage, which started on June 29, will conclude on August 19.
According to officials, 2,813 pilgrims paid obeisance at the 3,880-metre high cave shrine on Tuesday. This has taken the number of pilgrims this year to 5,00,105.
The officials said 1,500 male pilgrims, 618 female pilgrims, 65 sadhus and two sadhvis were among those who paid obeisance at the cave shrine.
Over 570 security forces and 57 children also performed the pilgrimage.
According to the officials, there have been two deaths — a sevadar from Haryana and a pilgrim from Jharkhand — in this year's yatra. Both the deceased suffered cardiac arrest along the Baltal route in June.
