Amarnath Yatra Resumes After 6 Days, 6,000 Pilgrims Leave Jammu Base Camp

The annual Amarnath Yatra resumed from Jammu on Saturday after remaining suspended for six days due to inclement weather, with a fresh batch of over 6,000 pilgrims leaving the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for Baltal base camp in Kashmir Valley, officials said.

On July 19, the yatra was suspended as a precautionary measure following persistent rainfall and adverse weather conditions across Jammu and Kashmir, especially along the twin routes -- traditional 48-km Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district -- to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine.

Officials said the 18th batch comprising 6,269 pilgrims including 1470 women, 25 children and 54 Sadhus departed in a convoy of 223 vehicles under tight security arrangements at about 2.40 am for the Baltal base camp.

No convoy was dispatched for the Pahalgam route, they said.

The pilgrimage resumed after the weather improved and the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway became trafficable again following a three-day closure triggered by landslides and shooting stones at several locations along the Udhampur-Ramban stretch, officials mentioned.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of pilgrims from Bhagwati Nagar base camp on July 2, a day before the start of the annual pilgrimage in the valley.

The yatra is scheduled to conclude on August 28, coinciding with the festival of Raksha Bandhan.

So far, nearly four lakh pilgrims have visited the cave shrine, of which around 1.20 lakh pilgrims commenced their pilgrimage from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu.

Pilgrims opting for the Jammu base camp are transported to Kashmir in escorted convoys under elaborate security arrangements.

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