Amarnath Yatra resumes from Pahalgam route

After a two-day halt, the Amarnath Yatra resumed from the Pahalgam route on Friday while it remained suspended for the third consecutive day from the Baltal route owing to landslides.

The yatra resumed from the Pahalgam route in south Kashmir's Anantnag district this morning, a spokesman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) said in Srinagar on Friday. The yatra on both routes was suspended on July 4 following heavy rains, landslides and shooting stones at several places in the Yatra area.

The yatra, however, remained suspended from the Baltal route in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district due to landslides near the base camp and in Danibagh area of Kangan on the Srinagar-Leh highway, the spokesman said.

The landslide at Danibagh also forced the closure of the Srinagar-Leh road - the only road-link connecting the valley with Ladakh region.

So far, three pilgrims have died and four others injured in the landslide between Brarimarg and Railpathri on Baltal route on Tuesday night while two pilgrims were killed by shooting stones over the past three days, a police official said.

Read | Kailash Mansarovar Yatra: 883 pilgrims rescued from Simikot in last three days

One Sanjay Santra, a pilgrim from West Bengal, died near the cave shrine due to cardiac arrest, the official said.

Six others have died due to cardiac arrest since the pilgrimage to the 3880-metre high shrine began on June 28, taking the death toll in this year's pilgrimage to 12.

(With inputs from agencies)