A new batch of nearly 3,000 Amarnath pilgrims left a base camp here on Saturday for Kashmir, but their convoy was briefly stopped in Ramban due to landslides along the Jammu-Srinagar highway, officials said. Rains caused landslides in the Mehar and Dalwas districts along the 270-kilometer route, but traffic was resumed once the debris was removed, officials said.
The 20th batch of 3,472 pilgrims left Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar base camp in 132 vehicles early Saturday, but the convoy was delayed at Chanderkote due to the highway shutdown, they added. The pilgrims were later allowed to proceed to their destinations in the Kashmir Valley to join the yatra, according to officials, who added that they arrived in Banihal about noon.
According to officials, 2,515 pilgrims are scheduled to travel to the Amarnath cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas from Pahalgam in Anantnag district and 957 via the Baltal route in Ganderbal district. Since its inception on July 1, over three lakh pilgrims have made their way to the temple at an elevation of 3,880 metres.
A meteorological department official stated that light to moderate rainfall and thunderstorms have been reported in numerous parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Rain is expected to persist throughout the day, with heavy periods projected in several regions, including Kathua district. This will be followed by scattered light to moderate rain on Sunday, he predicted.
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