Amarnath Yatra halted due to heavy rain alert

Amarnath Yatra was suspended Thursday, July 17, due to heavy rainfall forecasts, halting all pilgrim movement from Jammu and base camps. Authorities have urged caution and reinforced security amid ongoing adverse weather.

Srinagar: As a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the Yatris, authorities on Thursday did not allow any movement of pilgrims from Jammu to Kashmir, or from the two base camps of Baltal and Pahalgam towards the cave shrine.

Officials said, “Due to adverse weather advisory predicting heavy rain along the Yatra route from Jammu to the Valley and also from the twin base camps of Baltal and Pahalgam to the holy cave shrine, no movement of Yatris will be allowed today from Jammu to Srinagar or from the two base camps towards the holy cave shrine.”

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The Meteorological (MeT) Department has forecast widespread light to moderate rain in Kashmir and heavy to very heavy rain in the Jammu division during the next 24 hours.

Officials said that since the Yatra started this year on July 3, in the last 14 days, over 2.37 lakh Yatris had ‘darshan’ inside the cave shrine.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that, given the response and enthusiasm of the pilgrims, this year’s Amarnath Yatra is likely to cross the 3.50 lakh figure expected so far.

Bhumi Pujan of ‘Chhari Mubarak’ (Lord Shiva’s Holy Mace) was performed at Pahalgam on July 10. The Chhari Mubarak was taken to Pahalgam by a group of seers led by the sole custodian of the Chhari Mubarak, Mahant Swami Deependra Giri, from its seat at the Dashnami Akhara building in Srinagar.

The Chhari Mubarak was then taken back to its seat at the Dashnami Akhara building in Srinagar. It will be taken to the holy cave shrine on August 4 and will reach there on August 9, when the Yatra will officially conclude.

Authorities have made extensive multi-tier security arrangements for this year’s Amarnath Yatra, especially after the cowardly attack on April 22 in which Pakistan-backed terrorists killed 26 civilians after segregating them based on faith in the Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam.

An additional 180 companies of CAPFs have been brought in to augment the existing strength of the Army, BSF, CRPF, SSB, and local police.

The Army has rolled out ‘Operation SHIVA 2025’, deploying more than 8,500 troops alongside advanced surveillance and combat technology.

All the transit camps en route to the two base camps and the entire route from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu to the cave shrine are secured by the security forces.

Yatris approach the holy cave shrine, situated 3,888 metres above sea level in the Kashmir Himalayas, either from the traditional Pahalgam route or the shorter Baltal route.

No helicopter services are available to Yatris this year due to security reasons.

The cave shrine houses an ice stalagmite structure that wanes and waxes with the phases of the moon. Devotees believe that the ice stalagmite structure symbolises the mythical powers of Lord Shiva.