Amarnath Yatra suspended for today due to incessant rain

Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], July 17 (ANI): Amarnath Yatra has been suspended for Thursday from both Pahalgam and Baltal base camps due to incessant rainfall for the past two days, officials said.
The suspension comes as authorities rush to carry out repair work on the pilgrimage route, affected due to continuous downpour, informed Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Vijay Kumar Bidhuri
"Due to the continuous rains over the last couple of days, urgent repair and maintenance works are required to be carried out on the tracks. Therefore, it has been decided that no movement shall be allowed towards the Holy Cave from the two base camps today," he said.
The Divisional Commissioner also stated that pilgrims are allowed to descend from the Baltal base camp, provided adequate security teams are deployed.
"However, yatris who stayed at Panchtarni camp during the preceding night are being allowed to proceed down to Baltal under adequate deployment of BRO and Mountain Rescue Teams," he said.
The pilgrimage is expected to resume tomorrow, depending on the weather conditions," he added.
So far, over 2.47 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the Holy Cave Shrine during the Shri Amarnathji Yatra 2025, according to the Department of Information & Public Relations (DIPR) Kashmir.
On Wednesday J-K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed optimism about a record turnout for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, noting the fears around the turnout after the Pahalgam terror attack in April which shook the nation.
"The Amarnath Yatra will continue till 9th August, and I hope that this number will increase. There was a time when after the Pahalgam attack, it seemed that hardly anyone would come for the Amarnath Yatra. But we have touched 2.5 lakh, and if it stays like this, then we should easily cross 3 lakh and 3.5 lakh," he said.
Amarnath Yatra is an annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave, where devotees offer prayer to Lord Shiva.
The 38-day annual Amarnath pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine in south Kashmir began on July 3 and will conclude on August 9. (ANI)