Amarnath Yatra resumes after 2-day gap, pilgrims hopeful of 'darshan'

Jammu, July 11: Amarnath Yatra, which was partially suspended after a cloudburst incident near the holy cave that claimed 16 lives, resumed on Monday morning. A fresh batch of Amarnath pilgrims has started to move from the Jammu base camp.

"We are filled with energy and will not go back without the 'darshan' of Baba. We have full faith in Bhole Baba and are waiting for the darshan of Baba. We are happy that the Yatra has resumed. CRPF and other personnel have guided us to move ahead safely," said the pilgrims.

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

Amarnath Yatra, which was partially suspended after a cloudburst incident, will resume on Monday from the Nunwan Pahalgam side, informed the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board on Sunday. Choppers from both sides, Baltal and Nunwan will be available.

The pilgrims were waiting at the Baltal Base camp for the yatra to recommence.

On Friday evening, a huge tragedy had unfolded after a cloudburst triggered flash floods near the cave shrine of Amarnath. Massive rescue operations were launched soon after that stretched overnight by armed forces, disaster response forces and the Jammu and Kashmir Police. J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha who visited Chandanwari on Sunday had met pilgrims, and had hinted about the resumption of yatra.

The annual pilgrimage - that started on June 30 after a gap of two years - is held from two routes: the Baltal route and the Pahalgam route. Over one lakh pilgrims have offered prayers at the cave shrine, housing the naturally formed ice 'shivling', according to reports. A total of 69,535 pilgrims have left in 10 batches from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu for the Valley since June 29, the day the first batch of pilgrims was flagged off by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha.