The annual Amarnath Yatra remained suspended for a third consecutive day on Friday due to bad weather conditions. The convoy of vehicles carrying pilgrims from Jammu was not permitted to move towards the Baltal and Pahalgam base camps in the Valley Friday.
“There has been an improvement in the weather today. The situation will be reviewed and a decision will be taken later in the day,” said an official.
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More than 30,000 pilgrims are presently stranded at different places including the two base camps, transit camps and in Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas.
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Governor NN Vohra has cancelled his Jammu tour and will visit Baltal on Friday. A Raj Bhawan spokesman said Vohra would visit Baltal, Nunwan, Sheshnag and Panjtarni camps on the two Amaranth shrine routes where pilgrims were stranded because of bad weather.
On Thursday, the pilgrimage from both Baltal and Pahalgam routes remained suspended because of landslides and shooting stones between Railpathri and Brarimarg amid continuous rains. However, limited helicopter services functioned on both routes.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was visiting the state, was also not able to visit the Amarnath cave shrine due to bad weather as the pilgrimage routes remained closed on Thursday.
On the 8th day of the ongoing Shri Amarnathji Yatra, 7,450 Yatris paid obeisance and till date 68,202 Yatris had darshan of the ice lingam at the holy cave.
The authorities are taking precautions as five pilgrims died due to a landslide on the Baltal route on Tuesday.