The Amarnath yatra resumed on Monday, 11 July, with more than 4,000 pilgrims leaving their base camps to visit the cave shrine. The yatra had been suspended earlier due to inclement weather.
A cloudburst had occurred on 8 July, which had triggered flash floods – leading to the deaths of at least 16 people and leaving more than 30 wounded. However, despite the risk of another such incident, thousands proceeded towards the Amarnath cave on Monday.
"A total of 4,026 pilgrims left in the 12th batch from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas here in a convoy of 110 vehicles amid heavy security of CRPF," officials stated, as per news agency PTI.
Air Commodore Pankaj Mittal said that they had cleared the opening of the yatra only after a major part of 'rescue and relief operations' was done.
"I think in a day or two, we will be able to clear the area for anything else," he added.
Tents Were Set Up in the Same Area Where Floods Occurred Last Year
In July 2021, a flashflood had occurred at the same place near the Amarnath cave where the cloudburst had triggered floods on Friday.
There were no casualties in the flood last year as the yatra had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The flood had, however, washed away a few tents set up by security personnel in the area. Despite that, tents were set up in the exact same place this year.
"It was well known that the water channel there is prone to flooding, but still the planning completely lacked any thoughtfulness, especially about the weather at this time of the year. The main effort was to show numbers," an official from the Jammu and Kashmir administration was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
This year, the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) had built a wall about two-feet high to prevent water from flowing into the dry bed. However, when the flood occurred, the water rose above the wall within seconds and washed the tents away.
A total of 1,016 pilgrims heading for Jammu and Kashmir's Baltal were the first batch to leave the Bhagwati Nagar camp at around 3:30 am, followed by the next batch comprising 2,425 pilgrims headed for Pahalgam, as per officials.
In the meantime, the Indian Army constructed a makeshift staircase outside the holy cave. This comes after a path leading to the shrine was damaged due to a landslide triggered by the cloudburst.
Most Pilgrims From Andhra Traced
Most pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh who were missing earlier, have been traced and are said to be safe, the state government said. However, one pilgrim from the state was confirmed dead, while another is still missing, as per PTI.
A group of 11 people from Nellore who had been missing since the cloudburst occurred were finally traced on Monday, said Additional Resident Commissioner of AP Bhavan in New Delhi Himanshu Kaushik, who has been camping in Srinagar and overseeing the search and rescue operations.
Also, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of the two residents of the state who had died amid the cloudburst.
The 43-day yatra had commenced on 30 June this year from two camps: the traditional Nunwan-Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal.
So far, more than 1.13 lakh pilgrims have offered prayers at the Amarnath shrine this year. The yatra is scheduled to end on 11 August.
(With inputs from PTI and The Indian Express.)
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