Bharat Jodo Yatra suspended till January 27 due to bad weather

Due to incessant rains and landslides, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra was halted near Ramban on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on Wednesday.

“Due to poor weather conditions and landslides in the area, the afternoon leg of #BharatJodoYatra in Ramban & Banihal has been cancelled. Tomorrow is a rest day and the Yatra will resume day after, January 27th at 8 am,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted.

Rahul was seen wearing a jacket amid rain as his yatra began from Ramban on foot towards Banihal under heavy security cover. The yatra was scheduled to reach the highway town of Banihal today evening and is scheduled to culminate with the hoisting of tri-colour at Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium in Srinagar on January 30.

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The Congress has invited leaders of 22 opposition parties to participate in the culmination ceremony of the yatra in Srinagar. While National Conference (NC) President and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut joined the yatra in Lakhanpur, People’s Democratic Party Chief Mehbooba Mufti and her daughter are also scheduled to join the yatra when it enters Kashmir.

The journey from Ramban to Banihal along the 264-km Jammu–Srinagar National Highway-- the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country -- is the most challenging due to several problematic stretches which are prone to shooting of stones from the hillocks overlooking the arterial road.

The highway was closed for vehicular traffic on Wednesday morning after heavy rains triggered shooting stones at a few places in Ramban district that left a truck driver dead and two others injured.

The final venue of the yatra – SK Cricket stadium - has hosted rallies of former prime ministers Atal Behari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh and incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past.