SAHIL BHAT
JULY 31: On Thursday, the Amarnath pilgrimage resumed from Baltal axis in Ganderbal district of Kashmir valley but remained suspended from Jammu.
With incessant rain lashing several parts of Jammu and Kashmir, roads were unsafe to travel in view of that holy pilgrimage was suspended on both the tracks Baltal and Pahalgam yesterday.
No new batch of devotees was allowed to depart from Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu to holy ‘Baba Barfani’ nestled in South Kashmir’s Himalayas on Thursday morning.
Also, with regard to the maintenance work required at the Pahalgam axis, the yatra has been suspended from that track.
Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Ramesh Kumar Jangid has said that owing to incessant rain showers in the yatra area, the movement of pilgrims has been affected from Base Camps in Kashmir, adding, given that the yatra will be halted from Jammu.
Pertinent to mention, this is the second time the pilgrimage has been halted. On July 17, the yatra was suspended due to heavy rains at the twin base camps (Baltal and Pahalgam) in Kashmir.
Besides, more than 3.93 lakh pilgrims performed puja at the ice lingam of Lord Shiva since the commencement of pilgrimage on July 2. In the previous year, over 5.10 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine.
The 38-day-long pilgrimage of Amarnath Ji will culminate on August 9, 2025.
