Amarnath Yatra Cut Short: Devotees Disappointed as Administration Announces Premature End, Know the Reason

Srinagar (The Uttam Hindu): A big news has come for the lakhs of devotees waiting to have darshan of Baba Barfani. The Jammu and Kashmir administration has announced the premature end of the holy Amarnath Yatra. This yatra was to continue till 9 August, the day of Rakshabandhan, but due to bad weather and damaged roads, it has been decided to stop it from 3 August itself.

Confirming this decision, Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Vijay Kumar Bidhuri said that due to continuous heavy rains, both the main routes of the Yatra, Baltal and Pahalgam, have suffered heavy damage. The repair work of these routes is to be started immediately, in which heavy machinery and personnel will be deployed.

He clarified, movement of pilgrims is not possible due to ongoing repair work on the roads. The safety of the devotees is our top priority, so the yatra has to be stopped here. This year the Amarnath Yatra started on July 3. Till the yatra was stopped, this year 4.10 lakh devotees have visited Baba Barfani in the holy cave. However, this figure is less than last year. In the year 2024, more than 5.10 lakh devotees had performed the yatra.

In the last few years, there has been a significant ups and downs in the number of pilgrims in the Amarnath Yatra. In the year 2023, the yatra lasted for 62 days, in which 4.5 lakh devotees visited Baba Barfani. Earlier, a 43-day yatra was organized in 2022 after the Kovid epidemic, in which about 3 lakh pilgrims participated. However, the yatra had to be postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to the outbreak of the Corona epidemic. The record of the highest number of pilgrims in history so far was made in 2012, when a record-breaking 6.35 lakh pilgrims visited the holy cave, which is still a record.

After this announcement of the administration, those devotees who had to travel in the coming days have been disappointed. At present, the entire focus of the administration is on repairing the damaged routes as soon as possible.

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