Heavy devotee rush forces Amarnath Yatra suspension

Jammu, June 25 : The ongoing Amarnath Yatra was suspended today due to the heavy rush of devotees.

According to officials, devotees are not being allowed to proceed from the base camp at Bhagwati Nagar here, as there is a heavy rush from the base camps at Pahalgam and Baltal in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal District.

Over 283,000 pilgrims have already reached the shrine.

The pilgrimage was suspended on Tuesday after a part of a glacier caved in at Sangam that links Pahalgam and Baltal.

The pilgrimage ends on August 16.

Security forces have been on a high alert along the entire pilgrimage route to ensure the safety of the pilgrims.

The security setup consists of area domination and setting up of mountain posts by Army, deployments of CRPF and mobile patrolling by armed police.

Every year, a large number of devotees trek the steep, slippery 48-kilometres route to reach the Amarnath cave shrine, which stands at a height of nearly 12,500 feet above sea level.

ANI