Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir): The Amarnath Yatra resumed on Sunday after it remained suspended for three days due to incessant rainfall and snowfall in the Upper Himalayan reaches.
According to officials, as soon as the skies cleared around the cave shrine, the authorities opened the gates and allowed the stranded devotees to offer prayers at the naturally formed ice-lingam in south Kashmir Himalayas.
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"Those devotees who had already performed 'darshan' have been allowed to return to Baltal base camp," news agency PTI quoted a senior official at the Panjtarni base camp as saying.
Meanwhile, the Army has sheltered over 700 Amarnath pilgrims at its camp in Qazigund in the Anantnag district after they were stranded due to heavy rainfall in the Kashmir valley.
The Amarnath Yatra was suspended from both the base camps due to bad weather and rains in the Kashmir Valley since Friday. So far, the number of pilgrims, who have visited the holy 'Shiva Lingam' in the caves has crossed the 80,000 mark.
The pilgrims lauded the locals, volunteers, security forces along with district guards, saying this year there is a perfect arrangement for them at every halt. The 62-day-long Amarnath Yatra began on July 1 and is set to conclude on August 31. The pilgrims approach the Himalayan cave shrine either from the traditional south Kashmir Pahalgam route which involves an uphill trek of 43 kilometres from the Pahalgam base camp or from the north Kashmir Baltal base camp which involves 13 kilometres uphill trek.
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