The annual Amarnath Yatra resumed from the Baltal route in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district Tuesday after a four-day suspension following a massive cloudburst that claimed 16 lives and left several injured.
The yatra resumed partially from an alternative route in Chandanwari from the traditional Pahalgam route on Monday.
A fresh batch of pilgrims left the Baltal base camp early morning for the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said. A fresh batch of over 7,000 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu city under tight security arrangements for the twin base camps of Pahalgam and Baltal in Kashmir early Tuesday.
A rescue operation was launched by the police, Army, paramilitary forces, Air Force, NDRF and other concerned agencies to remove the debris and locate the missing since the calamity struck late Friday.
Road strips that were washed away due to the flash floods at several places on the yatra track were constructed at alternative places to make the pilgrimage possible. The rescue and maintenance of road operations are still going on at many places on both routes, officials said.
The 43-day annual Yatra began on June 30, from the twin base camps of Pahalgam and Baltal in Ganderbal district. In the first nine days of the yatra, over one lakh pilgrims offered their prayers at the cave shrine of Lord Shiva. However, after the July 8 massive cloudburst, the yatra was suspended. The yatra to the holy cave shrine will culminate, as per the tradition, on the day of Raksha Bandhan, on August 11.