Amarnath Yatra: Vehicles stranded following heavy rainfall in the Baltal region of Jammu and Kashmir.
The annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Amarnath cave in south Kashmir Himalayas that began on Wednesday has been temporarily suspended due to heavy rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir. The pilgrims have been asked to stay in their respective camps as the weather deteriorated along the Baltal track.
The officials have been deployed to restore the road connectivity.
Over two lakh pilgrims have registered for Amarnath Yatra this year. The yatra began with the first batch of about 3000 pilgrims that left Jammu base Camp amidst tight security arrangements.
The administration this year is using radio frequency (RF) tags to keep a track of the movement of vehicles towards the Amarnath shrine. The CRPF has also preceded with motorcycle squads mounted with cameras and other life-saving equipment to ensure safe operations. At least 40,000 security personnel from Jammu and Kashmir Police, Paramilitary forces, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Indian Army have been deployed for Amarnath Yatra this year.