Amarnath Yatra remains suspended due to bad weather

Jammu, July 13 : The annual Hindu pilgrimage Amarnath Yatra remained suspended for the second day on Monday as no pilgrim was allowed to proceed towards Kashmir Valley due to bad weather, police said.

"No yatri was allowed to move towards the valley today from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas because of bad weather and closure of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway", a senior police officer told IANS in Jammu on Monday.

Landslides triggered by heavy rains have blocked the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only surface link to the valley, at some places in Ramban district of Jammu region.

Meanwhile, authorities said in Srinagar that no pilgrim will be allowed to move towards the Amarnath cave shrine from either the north Kashmir Baltal or the south Kashmir Nunwan (Pahalgam) base camps on Monday.

"Heavy rains are lashing the mountainous track on both sides. The situation will be reviewed only after the weather improves. No yatri is stranded anywhere along the track and all are lodged at safe places inside the two base camps and the transit camps," said an official of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) that manages the affairs of the Hindu pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine.