Amarnath Yatra suspended again due to heavy rain, shortly after resumption

The Amarnath Yatra was suspended again shortly after resumption on Monday due to heavy rainfall at Panjtarni and near the holy cave. A fresh batch of pilgrims left for Kashmir valley from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp of Jammu at 5 am on Monday. 

The pilgrims were happy that the yatra resumed and prayed that it would be successful. 

The yatra resumed after a cloudburst that triggered flash floods on Friday near the cave, in which at least 16 people lost and around 40 others are still missing. 

Deputy Commissioner Jammu, Avny Lavasa, had asked all the Yatris registered on or before July 11 to move to the Bhagwati Nagar base camp. 

Meanwhile, IAF Mi-17 V5 and Cheetal helicopters evacuated 34 more injured pilgrims today. In order to search for missing people trapped under debris, IAF helicopters also airlifted 20 NDRF personnel and six dogs.   

Officials had rescued more than 15,000 stranded pilgrims till Saturday and shifted them to the lower base camp of Panjtarni. 

Earlier on Friday evening, the flash flood triggered by a cloudburst near the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir swept away scores of people, killing at least 15 and swamping tents and community kitchens. 

Then, the Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), continued the rescue operation throughout the night as they looked for missing persons in the cloudburst-affected area at the lower Amarnath Cave site. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Friday has sent three teams comprising about 75 rescuers.  

Every year, IMD releases a special weather advisory for Amarnath Yatra.