Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 24: Yatra to holy cave remained suspended today from shortest Baltal track due to inclement weather and rains. This was stated by an Officer on yatra duty.
He said however the yatra proceeded smoothly from 32 km long Nunwan -Chandanwari track.
On the 27th day of the ongoing Shri Amarnathji yatra, 1,629 pilgrims paid obeisance to Lord Shiva in holy Amarnath cave situated at an altitude of 3880 metres in deep Himalayas in South Kashmir district of Anantnag, the Officer said.
He said till date 2,42,165 pilgrims performed darshan at holy cave and out of them majority has returned to their home states.
He said due to heavy rains no yatra was allowed to leave for holy cave from Baltal while the chopper service also remained suspended for the second consecutive day today due to bad weather in the yatra area.
The Officer said about 4000 pilgrims are staying at Baltal Base Camp for night and they included those pilgrims who reached base camp today after performing darshan at cave shrine.
He said 1246 pilgrims left for darshan from Nunwan Base Camp via traditional and longest Chandanwari track. Besides, the pilgrims having night halt at Sheshnag and Panjtarni halting stations also left for their onwards sojourn in the morning.
The Officer said the rush has considerably decreased to a great extent and some langer people have decided to pack up due to decline in the rush.
Meanwhile, a 56-year-old Sadhu died due to illness even as a fresh batch of over 1,200 pilgrims left Bhagawti Nagar Yatri Niwas here, today for the holy cave the Officer said.
The Sadhu, Omeshanand from West Bengal, fell ill at Ram Mandir here yesterday and was shifted to Government Medical College where he died in the evening, they said. This has taken the death toll to 29 during ongoing yatra which started on June 28.
Sadhus from across the country stay at the temple before and after paying obeisance at the holy cave housing the naturally formed ice-Shivlingam.
It was not immediately clear whether Omeshanand had performed the yatra, the officials said.
Braving heavy rains which lashed many parts of Jammu last night, a fresh batch of 1,282 pilgrims, including 266 women and 87 sadhus, left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here for Kashmir in the early hours today.
The pilgrims travelling in a convoy of 44 vehicle under tight security are expected to reach the twin base camps of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district later in the day.
They said while 868 pilgrims including 129 women and 87 sadhus opted for the traditional 36-km Pahalgam track, 414 pilgrims including 137 women are performing the yatra through the shorter 12-km Baltal track.
The 60-day yatra commenced from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal on June 28 and is scheduled to conclude on August 26, coinciding with “Raksha Bandhan and Sawan Purnima festivals”.
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