Amarnath Yatra resumes

JAMMU: The annual Amarnath pilgrimage resumed on Wednesday after remaining suspended for three days due to multiple landslides and heavy snowfall, which had blocked the route.

Authorities allowed 2,000 pilgrims, in the 15-45 age group, to proceed on their onward journey to the 3,888-meter high cave shrine of Lord Shiva in Lidder Valley of South Kashmir via the Pahalgam-Amarnath route.

"Amarnatra yatra resumed on Wednesday via the 46-km-long Pahalgam-Amarnath route after clearing landslides and nearly 2,000 pilgrims from Nunwan (Pahalgam) base camp were allowed to resume their onward journey this Wednesday," DIG South Kashmir Himant Lohia told PTI.

No elderly pilgrims have been allowed for the onward journey from Nunwan camp and only people in the 15-45 age group resumed their journey, he added.

The Baltal-Amarnath route is still closed and efforts are on to throw it open for the pilgrims, Madan Mantoo, a spokesman of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SSAB) said.

However, helicopters of two private airliners are ferrying pilgrims to Amarnath cave and back via the Baltal route, he said adding "we have allowed no fresh batch from Jammu to Pahalgam and Baltal base camps in Kashmir valley."

Around 600 pilgrims, all stranded due to landslides, had been rescued and brought to Baltal base camp on Tuesday.