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Bad weather continues to halt Amarnath Yatra

Srinagar: The annual Amarnath Yatra remained suspended on Thursday owing to bad weather, IANS reported.

The police officials stated that no pilgrim was allowed to move from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas towards the cave shrine.

“There was, however, limited helicopter services for the ‘yatris’ from the two base camps — Baltal and Pahalgam — to the holy cave on Wednesday,” the official stated.

On Wednesday, the Annual Amarnath Yatra had remained suspended after both the routes were shut following a landslide in Baltal.

“Movement of pilgrims along the Baltal and Pahalgam routes has been suspended for the time being,” officials said.

The Mughal Road connecting Poonch and Rajouri districts in the Jammu region with Shopian, in South Kashmir was also closed owing to landslides.

Officials told a local news gathering agency, GNS that incessant rains at Chhatapani along the highway caused landslides which kept the road close. Efforts were underway to restore traffic, they added.

Earlier, on Tuesday, a landslide at Baltal had killed three Amarnath yatris and injured one.

ALSO READ: Ministry of Home Affairs to directly monitor Amarnath Yatra security

The yatra had earlier been halted due to bad weather but resumed after the weather had improved in the afternoon. It was officially started early on Thursday, after batches of pilgrims started their progress to the camps on Wednesday. The MeT had forecast rain and thundershowers in the valley for the next 48 hours till Saturday.

The Governor NN Vohra, who’s also chairman of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), told the pilgrims that they should have confidence in the forces.

“There won’t be any difficulty in the yatra,” Vohra said.  In 2017, eight pilgrims were killed and 13 others injured in the attack on an Amarnath yatris bus.

ALSO READ: Meet the Majid Squad, a group that voluntarily cleans filth on Amarnath Yatra routes

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