Jammu, July 25: The annual Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra resumed on Saturday after remaining suspended for six consecutive days due to adverse weather conditions, with a fresh batch of 6,269 pilgrims leaving the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu for the Baltal base camp under extensive security arrangements, officials said.
Officials informed the Kashmir News Corporation (KNC) that the 18th batch of pilgrims was flagged off at around 2:40 a.m. in a convoy of 223 vehicles. The batch comprised 6,269 devotees, including 1,470 women, 25 children and 54 Sadhus, who began their onward journey to the Kashmir Valley after authorities restored the pilgrimage following an improvement in weather conditions.
According to officials, no convoy was allowed through the traditional Pahalgam route, and all pilgrims in the latest batch were directed to travel via the Baltal route as a precautionary measure.
The Yatra had been suspended on July 19 following continuous rainfall, landslides and deteriorating weather conditions along both the 48-kilometre traditional Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the 14-kilometre Baltal route in Ganderbal district, leading to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine.
Officials said the pilgrimage resumed after weather conditions improved and traffic was restored on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, which had remained affected due to landslides and shooting stones, particularly along the Udhampur-Ramban stretch.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had flagged off the first batch of pilgrims from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas on July 2, a day ahead of the formal commencement of the annual pilgrimage in Kashmir.
Officials further stated that nearly four lakh devotees have so far paid obeisance at the revered Amarnath cave shrine, while around 1.20 lakh pilgrims have undertaken the pilgrimage from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu since the beginning of this year’s Yatra.
Authorities have put in place multi-layered security arrangements, with all pilgrim convoys being escorted by security forces to ensure the safe movement of devotees.
The annual Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra 2026 is scheduled to conclude on August 28, coinciding with the festival of Raksha Bandhan. (KNC)
