After remaining suspended for two days due to inclement weather, the Amarnath yatra resumed on Sunday from the traditional Pahalgam route in south Kashmir.
However, the pilgrimage was halted from the Baltal route in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district for the third consecutive day due to landslides and shooting stones. The yatra was suspended on Friday on both routes in the wake of heavy rains which caused landslides and shooting stones at several places.
No fresh batch of yatris was allowed to move from Jammu towards the cave shrine in Kashmir as the 264-km Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only road link connecting Kashmir with other parts of the country, remained closed for traffic due to landslides, an official said. No pilgrim has departed the Bhagwati Nagar yatri niwas (in Jammu) for the cave shrine.
There are thousands of yatris stranded at various base camps en route the 3,880-metre high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas, reports said.
Quoting Karnataka government officials, news agency ANI reported that at least 80 people from Karnataka were trapped in the Panchtarni, six kilometres away from the holy cave, following adverse weather conditions.
The 62-day pilgrimage is held from the twin base camps - Pahalgam's Nunwan, in south Kashmir’s Anantnag and Baltal camp in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district. The annual pilgrimage which started on July 1 will culminate on August 31, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan and Shravan Purnima.