Amarnath Yatra suspended from Jammu due to heavy rainfall forecast

The Amarnath Yatra was suspended from here on Thursday following a weather advisory warning of heavy rain in many parts of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

This comes a day after a woman pilgrim died and three sustained injuries in a landslide along the Baltal route of the yatra in Ganderbal district.

"The yatra has been suspended for today. No fresh batch of pilgrims was allowed to move from Jammu towards the twin base camps of the holy cave shrine this morning," an official told PTI.

He said the step was taken in view of a two-day weather advisory which warned of heavy rains in Jammu and Kashmir, including on the yatra routes in Kashmir. 

This is the first time the yatra has been suspended from Jammu this year.

More than 2.35 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the 3,880-metre-high shrine since the yatra began on July 3.

A total of 1,01,553 pilgrims have departed from the Jammu base camp for the valley since July 2, when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch.

Over 4 lakh people have registered online for the pilgrimage so far.

Last year, more than 5.10 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine, which houses a naturally formed ice lingam.

The 38-day pilgrimage will conclude on August 9.