JAMMU: The Shri Amarnath Yatra convoy was not allowed to proceed from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu to the Kashmir Valley on Saturday after the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was closed due to heavy rainfall and repair work.
Officials said incessant rain in Udhampur and Ramban districts led to the closure of the strategic highway, disrupting the movement of fresh batches of pilgrims. The highway had remained shut a day earlier as well for maintenance, although the convoy carrying yatris had crossed before traffic was suspended.
No fresh batch of pilgrims was allowed to leave the Jammu base camp for the Kashmir Valley due to repair work underway on the Ladha-Samroli stretch of the highway in Udhampur district.
Fresh spells of rain have since disrupted the operations, leaving the road surface slushy, muddy and extremely slippery. Light to moderate rainfall continued on Saturday on both sides of the highway.
Meanwhile, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), which manages the affairs of the pilgrimage, has shifted the Yatra registration and token distribution counters from the Tawi River Front to the Bhagwati Nagar base camp following a decline in the number of pilgrims coming to Jammu.
The Tawi River Front had been developed as a centralised mega-facility for offline registration, token distribution, e-KYC verification and RFID issuance for Amarnath pilgrims.
Officials of SASB said that with the pilgrim influx coming down, the registration facilities have now been consolidated at the Bhagwati Nagar base camp.
Since July 3, when the Yatra started this year, around 4.5 lakh devotees have so far had Darshan inside the Himalayan cave shrine situated 3880 metres above sea level in south Kashmir's Anantnag district.
The cave shrine houses an ice stalagmite structure that wanes and waxes with the phases of the moon. Devotees believe the ice stalagmite structure symbolises the mythical powers of Lord Shiva.
Yatra from the south Kashmir Nunwan (Pahalgam) base camp route has remained suspended during the last 10 days due to track maintenance, while Yatra continues through the north Kashmir Baltal base camp route.
Those using the Baltal base camp route return to the base camp the same day after having Darshan inside the cave shrine. Those using the Nunwan (Pahalgam) base camp route take around 3-4 days to reach the cave shrine.
Since the area beyond the two base camps has been declared as the ‘No-fly zone’, helicopter services are not available to the Yatris this year. The 57-day-long Yatra will conclude on August 28, coinciding with Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan festivals.
--IANS
