Amarnath Yatra Halted: Baltal and Pahalgam Routes Shut Due to Bad Weather

J&K (The Uttam Hindu): The Amarnath Yatra was suspended on Thursday following continuous heavy rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir over the past 36 hours. Officials confirmed that both the Baltal and Pahalgam routes have been closed due to safety concerns. The decision comes a day after a tragic landslide on the Baltal route claimed the life of a woman pilgrim and injured three others. The Meteorological Department has issued a fresh warning for more heavy rain in the region over the next two days.

Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir, Vijay Kumar Bhiduri, stated that the yatra will remain suspended till July 17 to facilitate urgent repair work on both tracks. However, pilgrims who had halted at the Panjtarni camp last night are being escorted safely to Baltal with the assistance of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and mountain rescue teams. BRO has deployed men and machinery to restore the damaged pathways with hopes of resuming the pilgrimage on Friday, depending on weather conditions.

Since the commencement of the yatra on July 3, over 2.47 lakh devotees have visited the sacred 3,880-metre-high Amarnath shrine. As of now, more than 4 lakh pilgrims have registered for the pilgrimage with 1.01 lakh already having left from the Jammu base camp. Last year, the pilgrimage witnessed over 5.10 lakh visitors. This is the first time this year that the yatra has been suspended from Jammu due to weather disruptions.