Jammu, July 25 (JKNS): The annual Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra resumed on Saturday after remaining suspended for six days due to inclement weather, with a fresh batch of 6,269 pilgrims departing from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu for the Baltal base camp in Kashmir Valley, officials said.
Officials told news agency JKNS that the 18th batch of pilgrims, comprising 6,269 devotees, including 1,470 women, 25 children and 54 Sadhus, left in a convoy of 223 vehicles under elaborate security arrangements at around 2:40 am.
They said no convoy was dispatched for the Pahalgam route, while the entire batch was routed through the Baltal axis.
The Yatra had been suspended on July 19 as a precautionary measure following persistent rainfall and adverse weather conditions across Jammu and Kashmir, particularly along the twin pilgrimage routes, the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district leading to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine.
Officials said the pilgrimage resumed after weather conditions improved and the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway became trafficable again following its closure due to landslides and shooting stones along the Udhampur-Ramban stretch.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had flagged off the first batch of pilgrims from Bhagwati Nagar on July 2, a day before the commencement of the Yatra in Kashmir.
The annual pilgrimage is scheduled to conclude on August 28, coinciding with the festival of Raksha Bandhan.
Officials said nearly four lakh pilgrims have so far paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine, while around 1.20 lakh pilgrims have undertaken the pilgrimage from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu. Pilgrims are being transported to Kashmir in escorted convoys under multi-layered security arrangements. (JKNS)
