The Amarnath Yatra recommenced from Jammu on Saturday, having been halted for six days owing to poor weather, as a fresh batch of over 6,000 pilgrims set out from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the Baltal base camp in the Kashmir Valley, officials said.
The pilgrimage had been suspended on July 19 as a precautionary measure amid continuous rainfall and unfavourable weather across Jammu and Kashmir, particularly along the two routes to the 3,880-metre shrine — the traditional 48 km Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter 14 km Baltal route in Ganderbal district.
According to officials, the 18th batch, which consisted of 6,269 pilgrims — including 1,470 women, 25 children and 54 sadhus — departed in a convoy of 223 vehicles under heavy security at around 2.40 am, bound for the Baltal base camp. No convoy was sent along the Pahalgam route.
The yatra was able to resume once conditions improved and the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway reopened to traffic, following a three-day closure caused by landslides and falling rocks at several points along the Udhampur-Ramban stretch, officials added.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had flagged off the first batch of pilgrims from Bhagwati Nagar base camp on 2 July, a day ahead of the pilgrimage's official start in the valley.
The yatra is due to end on 28 August, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan. Close to four lakh pilgrims have visited the cave shrine so far, of whom roughly 1.20 lakh began their journey from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu.
Pilgrims travelling via the Jammu base camp are being ferried under stringent security arrangements.
Also read: Flood alert in Kashmir; Flash floods lash Udhampur
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