Amarnath Yatra: Rain hits Baltal route, CRPF opens helpdesk in Jammu

The third batch of 2,876 pilgrims left Jammu on Friday for the base camps in Kashmir Valley to pay obeisance at the shrine of Amarnath

The Amarnath yatra to the cave shrine in south Kashmir was on Friday suspended from the Baltal route due to multiple landslides en route caused by heavy rainfall in the valley over the past two days.

A police official said the Kali Mata Track has been damaged due to landslides at multiple places, which has forced suspension of the yatra from Baltal route.

"Restoration work is going on but a slight drizzle is hampering restoration work," the official said.

An official of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) said the yatra was going on through the Pahalgam route.

Meanwhile, the third batch of 2,876 pilgrims left Jammu for the base camps in Kashmir Valley to pay obeisance at the shrine of Amarnath.

The pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in a fleet of 90 vehicles under tight security at around 0630 hours, braving rains which lashed wide parts of Jammu and Kashmir for the third day on Friday, officials said.

The CRPF has opened a help desk at the railway station in Jammu to facilitate pilgrims.

Named 'Madadgaar' (helper), the desk has been set up at platform number one at Jammu-Tawi Railway Station and would provide all kind of guidance to pilgrims coming from various parts of the country, Public Relations Officer of CRPF Ashish Kumar Jha said.

The annual yatra to the 3880-metre high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas began on Thursday and will conclude on 26 August to coincide with the festival of Raksha Bandhan.