Amarnath Yatra suspended from Jammu due to bad weather

Jammu: The Amarnath Yatra was suspended on Thursday due to heavy rain in the valley for the last 36 hours, officials said. A weather advisory warned of more heavy rain in parts of Jammu and Kashmir.

This comes a day after a woman pilgrim died and three sustained injuries in a landslide along the Baltal route of the yatra in Ganderbal district.

"Shri Amarnathji Yatra has been suspended for 17.07.2025 from both Pahalgam and Baltal base camps. Continuous heavy rains over the last two days have necessitated restoration work to be carried out on tracks along both routes," Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Vijay Kumar Bhiduri said.

"However, yatris who stayed at Panjtami camp last night are being allowed to proceed down to Baltal with adequate deployment of BRO and Mountain Rescue Teams," he said.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has made heavy deployment of men and machinery on the tracks to complete the work so that the yatra can be resumed from both Baltal and Pahalgam base camps, Bhiduri said.

"In all likelihood, the yatra shall resume tomorrow (Friday), depending on the weather conditions during the course of the day," he said.

Another official told PTI that a two-day weather advisory has warned of heavy rains in Jammu and Kashmir, including on the yatra routes in Kashmir.

This is the first time the yatra has been suspended from Jammu this year.

So far, 2.47 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the 3,880-metre-high shrine since the yatra began on July 3.

A total of 1,01,553 pilgrims have departed from the Jammu base camp for the valley since July 2, when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch.

More than 4 lakh people have registered online for the pilgrimage so far.

Last year, more than 5.10 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine, which houses a naturally formed ice lingam.

The 38-day pilgrimage will conclude on August 9.