Amarnath Yatra temporarily suspended due to rain

Photo Courtesy: Aasif Shafi/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Heavy rainfall has delayed the commencement of the annual pilgrimage of Amarnath Yatra, the annual 60-day pilgrimage to the holy cave of Amarnath. It is reported that only 1,007 pilgrims could pay obeisance to the naturally formed ice-lingam at the holy cave shrine. It is also reported that around 1,735 pilgrims are stranded at the Nunwan base camp.

The yatra was earlier suspended on Thursday, when intermittent rains forced authorities to suspend the yatra briefly on the Baltal route and ask pilgrims to stay put at the Domel camp. However, as weather improved, the pilgrimage was resumed in the afternoon.

To continue the yatra, the pilgrims need to get approval from Roop Raj Bhagwan, police officer in-charge of the camp, and the person who took the call to postpone the yatra on Thursday. “We calculated the risk factors after our teams conducted a risk analysis of the routes. It takes around six hours for the pilgrims to leave Pahalgam and finish their journey for the day at Sheshnag camp. As per our information, the rains had caused a two-hour delay. I made the choice to postpone the yatra,” Bhagwan told IE.

To take the Amarnath tour, one needs to get themselves registered for a Yatra Permit. This year, 7,500 pilgrims per day per route are allowed to register for the Yatra. Registration and issue of Yatra Permit (YP) is done on first-come-first-serve basis. Travellers can get themselves registered at 440 designated bank branches of the Punjab National Bank, J&K Bank and YES Bank in 32 states and UTs across the country. To get the Yatra Permit, one has to submit Application Form, Health Certificate and four passport sized photos to the Registration Officer, after which a permit will be issued carrying specific date and route for the tour. The pilgrimage is scheduled to conclude on August 26 coinciding with the ‘Raksha Bandhan’ festival.

Beefing up the security, the government is using radio frequency (RF) tags to track Amarnath-bound vehicles for the first time. The CRPF has introduced motorcycle squads with cameras and various life-saving equipment for the yatra. Around 40,000 security personnel from Jammu and Kashmir Police, paramilitary, National Disaster Response Force and the Army, have been deployed for this year’s pilgrimage.

A total of 2.6 lakh pilgrims offered prayers at the shrine last year. This year almost 2,11,994 pilgrims have already secured advance registration through the designated bank branches, group registration facility and through booking of helicopter tickets for the yatra.