Avtar Bhat
SRINAGAR/JAMMU, July 8: After suspending for one hour from both Baltal and Chandanwari tracks due to heavy downpour in the morning, the Amarnath Yatra proceeded smoothly later in the day from both the tracks.
According to an official spokesman, the Amarnath Yatra was delayed for one hour from Nunwan-Pahalgam base camp and Baltal base camp due to heavy downpour in the morning. However after the improvement in the weather the yatra resumed smoothly.
He said 5,116 pilgrims left the Nunwan base camp via traditional Chandanwari track under tight security cover while 4,936 pilgrims left via shortest Baltal track from Baltal base camp.
He said the track was slippery in the morning but after the improvement in the weather it also dried up and there was smooth movement of pilgrims.
The spokesman said that weather will remain cloudy tomorrow enroute to holy cave and there will be rain and thunder showers at isolated places.
He said 14,685 pilgrims performed darshan in the holy cave today and out of them some have started their return journey via Baltal and Chandanwari tracks. With this the total number of pilgrims performing darshan in holy cave during the first eleven days of yatra has touched 1,57,333 since the first day of darshan on July 8.
He said till last night 1,42,648 yatris performed darshan in holy cave, he said, adding majority of them have reached their home destinations so far.
The yatris who had the night halt at Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarni also started their onwards journey to holy cave by foot in the morning, he added.
Meanwhile, the Governm-ent has drawn a flak for not opening the on spot registration counters for pilgrims at Baltal and Pahalgam despite the repeated pleas of various Hindu and social organizations due to which the unregistered yatris are facing a lot of humiliation.
VHP State president, Dr Rama Kant Dubey, Shri Amarnath and Buda Amarnath Yatri Niyas convener Surinder Aggarwal and INTUC leader P N Pandita have reiterated their appeal to Government to open yatri counters both at Baltal and Pahalgam for registration of unregistered yatris as they face humiliation in visiting Srinagar for fresh registration. This, besides time consuming is also expensive for the pilgrims, they added.
Meanwhile, amid rains a fresh batch of 2,119 pilgrims today left for the holy cave shrine from Yatri Niwas at Bhagwati Nagar base camp in the Winter Capital of the State.
“A batch comprising 1,547 males, 434 females, 40 children and 98 sadhus this morning left for the Amarnath cave shrine from here in a convoy of 71 vehicles, including 52 private and SRTC buses and 19 light motor vehicles,” an official spokesman here said.
He said the first bus left around 0455 hrs and the last bus at 0515 hrs.
“The yatra was going on smoothly despite heavy rains and there are no reports regarding halting of the vehicular movement on the highway,” the spokesman said.
All the vehicles had crossed the Jawahar Tunnel by the evening and they were on their way to Baltal and Nunwan base camps in Ganderbal district of Central Kashmir and Anantnag district of South Kashmir respectively.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
