Amarnath yatra suspended due to heavy rain

JAMMU: Pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir was today suspended following heavy rain and landslide in the Jammu region.

The yatra has been suspended from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here due to incessant rainfall and landslides at several places on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, a police officer said.

The highway was briefly closed to vehicular traffic in the morning so no fresh batch of pilgrims were allowed to proceed towards the two base camps in the Kashmir Valley.

The police and authorities of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) are monitoring the situation and the decision to resume the pilgrimage will be taken tomorrow if the weather conditions improve, he said.