Amarnath yatra resumes from Jammu amid tight security

Jammu, Jul 19: The Amarnath yatra resumed amid tight security from the base camp here this evening after it was suspended in the morning due to the ongoing unrest in the Kashmir Valley with a fresh batch of 2,591 pilgrims leaving for the cave shrine.

"The yatra, which was halted today morning due to the unrest in the valley, was resumed this evening with a fresh batch of 2,591 leaving in over 60 vehicles for the two base camps in the Kashmir valley," a police officer said.

He said a total of 1789 men, 752 women and 50 sadhus left in the cavalcade from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here for Pahalgam and Baltal base camps. "The cavalcade left amid tight security cover," he said.

The yatra was suspended for the third day in the morning in last 10 days following the killing of three persons in security forces firing at Qazingund on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway yesterday.

Violent protests erupted in the Kashmir Valley after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The 10-day-long spate of violence has claimed 42 lives in clashes between protestors and security forces. The yatra was initially suspended on July 9 and resumed on July 11 amid tight security.

It was stopped again stopped on July 14 and restarted on July 16. Meanwhile, officials said that with the frequent suspension of the yatra from Jammu as a "precautionary measure", the twin base camps of Baltal and Pahalgam along the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas looked empty.

"While 885 pilgrims, who had reached Baltal base camp in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir, were allowed to proceed towards the cave shrine this morning, no pilgrim was present at Nunwan camp along the traditional 42-km Pahalgam route in Anantnag district of south Kashmir," an official said.

At least 2,881 pilgrims, who had reached the cave shrine earlier, paid their obeisance till 4 PM and were returning through Baltal route, the official said.

The 48-day pilgrimage is scheduled to end on August 18, coinciding with 'Shravan Purnima' and 'Raksha Bandhan' festivals. Around 1,81,411 pilgrims have visited the cave since the commencement of the yatra on July 2.

PTI