Kashmir

Amarnath Yatra suspended due to bad weather

SRINAGAR — The Amarnath Yatra was suspended on twin routes of Baltal and Pahalgam due to bad weather conditions on Friday as rain lashed the Kashmir Valley, officials said.

Officials said that Amarnath Yatra has been suspended by authorities after heavy rains. “The Yatra was temporarily suspended in the morning and no pilgrim was allowed to move towards the holy cave”, they said.

They said over 3,200 pilgrims have been halted at Nunwan Pahalgam base camp and 4,000 pilgrims at Baltal base camp.

The officials however said the Yatra will resume after the weather improves. The officials added that over 80,000 devotees have performed Yatra so far.

Furthermore, over 300 pilgrims, who were carrying fake permits, have also been given permits after fresh registration at on-the-spot counters in Jammu.

“These pilgrims were duped by the travel agencies by providing them fake registration documents for their yatra. Three persons have been arrested in this connection so far,” officials added.

Meanwhile, the 8th batch comprising of 7,010 pilgrims on Friday left Baghwati Nagar base camp Jammu towards the valley in a cavalcade of 247 vehicles. — (KNO)