Amarnath yatra suspended till August 4 due to inclement weather conditions

Srinagar, Aug 01: In view of the current inclement weather conditions in Jammu and Kashmir, the Amarnath Yatra will remain suspended till August 4, the officials of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board said. Heavy and continued rainfall in the state has triggered landslides in several areas.

"In view of the inclement weather conditions, shooting of stones and landslides, particularly in Jammu region, the yatra will remain suspended till August 4, 2019," an SASB spokesperson said.

The India Meteorology Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall in the state, which may cause landslides and shooting stones on the highway between Jammu and Srinagar, particularly in the stretch between Ramban and Banihal, which is highly vulnerable to landslides and shooting stone.

The track from Baltal and Pahalgam has become slippery and slashy due to recent heavy rainfall and the situation is likely to aggravate in the next couple of days in view of weather advisory issued by IMD.

The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was also closed on Wednesday due to the landslide.

Pilgrims going for the Vaishno Devi yatra were also diverted to the traditional track as the new track was hit by landslide. According to news agency ANI, there was landslide on the new track situated between Adhkuwari and Bhawan.

The helicopter services to ferry the pilgrims on Katra-Shanjichat sector were also suspended due to bad weather conditions.

The intermittent rains also triggered a landslide at Morh Passi near Balli Nallah along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in the district, blocking the only all weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country.

In view of the heavy rains, the movement of pilgrims along the new track to the Vaishno Devi shrine was suspended as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident, a police official said.

However, he said the pilgrims were moving towards the cave shrine through the old route.

The weatherman had issued a 'yellow' warning alert, the least dangerous out of the weather warnings, for the Jammu region till Thursday.

The weather department issues colour-coded warnings to alert the public ahead of severe or hazardous weather which has the potential to cause "damage, widespread disruption or danger to life".

Jammu has recorded 73.4 mm rainfall during the past 24 hours, Lotus said, adding that the minimum temperature marked a dip of 1.3 notches to settle at 24.4 degrees Celsius.

(with PTI inputs)