Amarnath Yatra virtually over: Here is why no new pilgrims are allowed to move to Srinagar

The 43-day Amarnath Yatra has virtually concluded a week before the scheduled date since authorities have not allowed any pilgrims to move to Srinagar from the Jammu base camp. This comes after L-G Manoj Sinha urged devotees last week to visit the cave shrine before August 5 because the weather is expected to turn more inclement afterward.

Jammu: Authorities Saturday did not allow any yatris in Jammu's Bhagwati Nagar base camp to proceed to Srinagar for the Amarnath Yatra. Sources told ETV Bharat that no yatris were allowed to move from the base camp to Srinagar on Saturday with the weather as one of the likely reasons for the suspension.

The move comes days after Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha urged all devotees to visit the Amarnath cave shrine before August 5 because as per predictions the weather will turn more inclement afterward. However, the yatra is officially scheduled to end on August 11 on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.

"There has been heavy rainfall in many areas. I would like to urge all devotees to visit (the Amarnath Shrine) before August 5, because as per predictions the weather will turn more inclement afterward," said the Lieutenant Governor while speaking to the media at Lal Chowk on Aug 2. He said that pilgrims can go up to August 11 but given the weather advisory, the yatris can perform the darshan before August 5. He said that there has been heavy rainfall over the past many days in and around the cave shrine.

“The holy shiv lingam is also not in its original position due to the heat wave,” he said. Pertinently, the LG Sinha-led J&K administration had said that 6-8 lakh yatris will arrive for the yatra but the number is quite less than was expected by the government. The cloudburst at the cave shrine area on July 28 in which 15 pilgrims died and 55 were injured also affected the yatra arrivals.

The Yatra began on June 29, from Jammu amid tight security arrangements made by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) along with the army and the local police. The Amarnath shrine pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Lord Shiva, located in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, is held from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal.

Last month, Minister of State for Home (MoS) Nityanand Rai informed Lok Sabha Sabha that at least 15 people lost their lives due to flash floods, but no individual has been reported missing during the Amarnath Yatra in July 2022. Replying to a query of BJP MP Neeraj Shekhar on the number of pilgrims who lost their lives due to flash floods during the Amarnath Yatra in July 2022, MoS Rai informed, "As per information provided by Jammu and Kashmir government, 15 persons lost their lives due to flash flood, but no person has been reported missing."

The 43-day annual pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine commenced on June 30 on the twin routes- the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag and the 14-km shorter Baltal route in Ganderbal.