BackAmarnath Yatra: Pilgrimage suspended amid flash floods triggered by heavy rains
The Yatra was suspended as the mountains around the holy cave was pounded by heavy rains this afternoon, triggering flash floods in the area
PremiumAmid heavy rains and flash floods, the annual Amarnath pilgrimage was suspended between Panchtarni and the holy cave on Tuesday
Following this, the authorities asked the pilgrims to evacuate the area.
According to officials, the Yatra was suspended as the mountains around the holy cave was pounded by heavy rains this afternoon, triggering flash floods in the area.
As a result of the rainfall, water started gushing down mountain passes at a few places, which also led to an increase in the water level in a nearby stream, stated officials.
As per officials, the situation forced the authorities to issue an alert for the pilgrims to evacuate the area following which all the pilgrims were safely taken to Panchtarni camp.
There was no loss of life or injuries or damage to property due to the rains, they added.
The scenes reminded of the July 8 flash flood triggered by heavy rains near the cave shrine resulting in the death of 15 pilgrims.
The flash floods also left about 55 people injured and washed away few tents and langar stalls near the cave shrine, following which rescue operations continued for six days.
Earlier this week, the Yatra was halted for the third time in the month of July on Friday due to bad weather condition on Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
Before this, the pilgrimage witnessed a halt in Jammu on July 10 and July 5.
The officials had informed that no new batch of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims was allowed to proceed from Jammu to the base camps located at the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas.
The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was reopened for only one-way traffic on Thursday night after several landslides and shooting stones triggered by heavy downpour at various places in Ramban district caused its closure. They stated that the authorities may resume the yatra from Jammu in the late afternoon if the landslides-affected highway become fully-operational.
The Amarnath Yatra 2022 commenced on June 30 from the twin base in the Anantnag and Ganderbal districts of Kashmir. So far, more than 2.30 lakh pilgrims offered prayers at the cave shrine. The yatra is scheduled to end on August 11 on Shravan Purnima coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan festival.
Since June 29, a total of 69,535 pilgrims have left in 10 batches from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu. The first batch of pilgrims was flagged off by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha.
Before the beginning of Yatra, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited the Amarnath Yatra base camp at Baltal to take a stock of facilities.
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