The Amarnath yatra has been suspended till August 3, describing the interests of the pilgrims, because heavy rains caused severe damage to the pilgrimage routes through Baltal and Pahalgam, said the authorities on a Friday. There is pressing repair and maintenance work in full swing to go back to the affected stretches before the sacred journey can be allowed to resume.
The yatra continued to be stalled on Friday morning on the Pahalgam route, and no fresh batch of pilgrims was allowed to travel anywhere near the cave shrine. Though it was initially permitted via the Baltal route, the rains continued until later in the day when authorities had to ban the movement through this track too.
At the Bagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu, the pilgrimage movement has also been suspended for the second consecutive day. Although it seems to be a confirmed decision by the Commissioner of Kashmir Division Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, who said, “As a result of the heavy rainfall experienced in recent days, we need to carry out repair and maintenance operations on Baltal axis of the Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra route. No pilgrimage shall be permitted via Baltal route on August 3 as well in the interest of yatri safety.” He continued by saying that updates would be done as the situation progresses.
It has been reported by authorities that the Baltal and Pahalgam axes are not in good condition due to the heavy rains, making passage unsafe, and repair work is an urgent requirement. This is not the first time such violations have been encountered, as the yatra was cancelled during the twin base camps earlier on July 17 due to heavy rains.
Amarnath Yatra is one of the most sacred pilgrimages of Hinduism that invites lakhs of pilgrims to the religious cave shrine of the Jammu and Kashmir state. The instances this year have raised the issues of uncontrollable climate in the area, and the authorities are now focusing on safety first and infrastructural preparedness to open up the routes.
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