Amarnath Yatra temporarily put on hold from both Baltal & Pahalgam base camps

July 9: A flood triggered by a cloudburst near the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in Kashmir swept away a huge number of people of people, killing at least 16 and swamping tents and community kitchens with mud and rocks barreling down a hillside.

An executive of the union territory administration said the Amarnath yatra, which began on June 30, has been suspended following the tragedy and a decision on its reopening will be taken after rescue operations get over. The yatra was scheduled to end on the 11 August.

Recently, the tenth batch consist ingredient of over 6,100 Amarnath pilgrims left from Jammu on Friday for the base camps of 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas.

The India Meteorological Department on Friday said that the deaths and devastating after shocks near the Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir was due to a highly localised rain event.

An official on the ground said about 40 people are missing while 65 have been injured. As per reports, over 65,000 pilgrims have carried out Amarnath Yatra this year. However, the authorities have temporarily have put the yatra on hold from both Baltal and Pahalgam base camps.

A total of 6,159 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in a caravan of 249 vehicles amid heavy security of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), they said.

#WATCH | J&K: Massive amount of water flowing turbulently after a cloud burst occurred in the lower reaches of Amarnath cave. Rescue operation is underway at the site pic.twitter.com/w97pPU0c6k

— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2022

According to weather scientists, the holy place reported 31 mm of rainfall between 4.30 pm and 6.30 pm on Friday. At least 13 people were killed and tents and community kitchens near the shrine was washed out  with mud and rocks that came hurtling down with a gush of water after a spell of rain. 16 people have died due to the Amarnath Yatra tragedy.

Meanwhile, injured people are being carried for treatment by IAF choppers.  Injured pilgrims being taken away to hospital for further treatment in an Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter from the cave site. Induction of choppers from Ladakh sector into Sri valley was difficult due to bad weather. The J&K administration had set up a helpline for the Amarnath Yatra. The Lt Governor, administration and the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) gave out four telephone numbers for people to get information about the cloud burst.

Helpline numbers for Amarnath Yatra: NDRF: 011-23438252 011-23438253 Kashmir Divisional Helpline: 0194-2496240 Shrine Board Helpline: 0194-2313149.