The Amarnath Yatra resumed on Sunday from Panjtarni and Sheshnag base camps on the Pahalgam side after remaining suspended for three days due to inclement weather in Kashmir. The Yatra was restarted after the weather showed signs of improvement on Sunday. Authorities said they opened the cave shrine gates immediately after the skies cleared around the area. They further allowed the stranded devotees to offer prayers at the naturally formed ice-lingam in south Kashmir Himalayas, reported news agency PTI. Meanwhile, devotees who performed ‘Darshan’ were allowed to return to Baltal base camp.
A senior official at the Panjtarni base camp was quoted as saying by PTI, "Those devotees who had already performed 'darshan' have been allowed to return to Baltal base camp.”
Meanwhile, the Army has also given shelter to more than 700 Amarnath pilgrims at its camp in Qazigund in Anantnag district after they were all stranded due to heavy rainfall in the valley.
Earlier, the Yatra remained suspended from both the Pahalgam and the Baltal routes due to the unfavourable weather. Officials had stopped pilgrims from moving toward the holy cave shrine.
On Friday and Saturday, officials said they did not allow fresh batches of pilgrims to leave Jammu to embark on their yatra due to the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
The highway has been blocked due to landslides caused by heavy rain, reported PTI. The heavy showers, which started early on Friday, led to the suspension of the pilgrimage and the devotees were stopped at the Baltal and the Nunwan base camps.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Jitendra Singh had earlier assured the pilgrims that officials are monitoring the situation and further requested them not to panic and follow the instructions given to them by authorities.
Nearly 15,000 pilgrims were stranded in the Jammu region. The Divisional Commissioner of Jammu Ramesh Kumar had directed the deputy commissioners of five districts to increase accommodation capacity and activate Emergency Operation Centres (EOCs).
Heavy rains have lashed large parts of Jammu and Kashmir since Thursday night while several high-altitude areas, including Mahaguns Top and adjoining areas near the Amarnath cave shrine, experienced snowfall.