Amarnath Yatra Suspended from Jammu as NH-44 Remains Closed Due to Heavy Rain

JAMMU, Aug 1: The annual Shri Amarnath Yatra was suspended from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu on Saturday after the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH-44) remained closed for the second consecutive day due to incessant rainfall, officials said. No fresh batch of pilgrims was allowed to proceed towards the Kashmir Valley as restoration work continued on the damaged Ladha-Samroli stretch of the 250-km strategic highway in Udhampur district. Officials said both sides of NH-44—the only all-weather road connecting the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country—were closed to traffic on Friday after the passage of the Amarnath Yatra convoy to facilitate repairs to sections damaged by last week’s heavy rains. However, fresh spells of rain have disrupted restoration efforts, leaving the highway muddy, slushy and highly slippery, making travel unsafe. Light to moderate rainfall has also been reported from parts of Ramban and Udhampur districts. Meanwhile, the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (SASB) has shifted Yatra registration and token distribution facilities from the Tawi Riverfront to the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu following a decline in the number of pilgrims arriving for the pilgrimage. The Tawi Riverfront had been established as a centralised facility for offline registration, token distribution, e-KYC verification and RFID issuance. With the pilgrim rush gradually easing, these services have now been consolidated at the Bhagwati Nagar base camp, officials said. The annual pilgrimage commenced on July 3, and around 4.5 lakh devotees have so far paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine housing the naturally formed ice Shivling in the south Kashmir Himalayas. The Yatra is scheduled to conclude on August 28, coinciding with the festival of Raksha Bandhan.