J&K: Amarnath yatra suspended due to bad weather

The Amarnath yatra from Jammu city to Kashmir was suspended on Friday due to bad weather conditions along the highway to the Valley, officials said.

As many as 7,021 pilgrims have paid obeisance at the cave shrine of Amarnath in the south Kashmir Himalayas till Thursday evening, taking the total those having performed the darshan to 3,08,839, they said.

Over 3.30 lakh pilgrims from across the country have so far registered themselves for the 46-day pilgrimage, which takes place on the 36-km Pahalgam track in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district and the 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district.

"The Amarnath yatra has been suspended from Jammu to Kashmir due to bad weather conditions along highway today," a police official told PTI.

There was heavy rainfall in Jammu and along the route to Kashmir on Thursday and it continued through the night, he said.

This is the third time the yatra had to be suspended from Jammu.

On July 8, the yatra was suspended as a precautionary measure following a strike called by separatists in the Kashmir valley to mark the third death anniversary of former Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

On July 13, it was again suspended in view of a separatists-sponsored strike in the the Kashmir valley on Martyrs' Day.

Four Amarnath pilgrims have died on Tuesday and Wednesday en route to the cave, taking the death toll in this year's pilgrimage to 30, officials said.

As many as 2.85 lakh pilgrims had paid obeisance at the cave last year, while the number was 3.52 lakh in 2015, 3.20 lakh in 2016 and 2.60 lakh in 2017. PTI AB IJT