Even as the Jammu-Srinagar national highway opened for one-way traffic on Friday, the Amarnath Yatra was suspended from Jammu today due to inclement weather and the accumulation of slush on the road at various places.
Reports said that no fresh batch was allowed to proceed towards Kashmir on Friday morning from Bhagawati Nagar Jammu-the base camp of Amarnath Yatra.
Although a large number of devotees have reached Bhagwati Nagar camp, authorities convinced the pilgrims to wait for the improvement in the weather condition conditions and clearance of slush from the highway.
Official sources said that the Yatra has been suspended from Jammu for an onward journey to Amarnath cave in view of the bad condition of the highway and inclement weather conditions.
Earlier, the Amarnath Yatra was suspended from Jammu due to bad weather on July 10 and resumed on July 11.
Meanwhile, a fresh batch of 4703 pilgrims, who left Jammu on early Thursday morning, was allowed to proceed further from Chanderkote Ramban.
These pilgrims were not allowed to go beyond Chanderkot by the Ramban district administration on Thursday due to shooting stones and blockade of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and were taken to Chanderkot Yatri Niwas for night halting.
43-days along Yatra to conclude on August 11
The 43-day-long Yatra, which began on June 30, will culminate on Shravan Purnima coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan festival falling on August 11 when the holy mace of Lord Shiva from Dashnami Akhara Srinagar will reach the holy cave shrine.
After a gap of three years, the annual Amarnath Yatra resumed this year. In 2019, the Yatra was cancelled midway in the view of Centre's plan to abrogate Article 370. The Amarnath Yatra did not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jammu- Srinagar national highway opens for one-way traffic
After remaining closed for a day due to landslides and shooting stones at many locations between Udhampur and Banihal, the Jammu-Srinagar national highway opened for one-way traffic on Friday.
"Jammu -Srinagar national highway single way road clear at Mehad, Ramban amid intermittent shooting stones, stranded vehicles, and Yyatra convoys will be cleared first and Mughal road through. However, SSG road closed in view of maintenance and repair", J&K Traffic Police tweeted.
For the past two days, traffic has been affected due to continuous landslides and shooting stones.
The highway is the lifeline of the Kashmir valley and the main road link connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country.
Traffic update at 0700 hrs.
— J&K Traffic Police (@Traffic_hqrs) July 22, 2022
Jammu -Srinagar NHW single way road clear at Mehad, Ramban amid intermittent shooting stones, stranded vehicles and yatra conyoys will be cleared 1st & Mughal road through. However, SSG road closed in view of maintenance and repair @JmuKmrPolice
