Amarnath Yatra from Jammu remains suspended for second day on Friday

The Amarnath Yatra from Jammu remained suspended from Jammu for the second consecutive day on Friday due to inclement weather conditions, officials said.

No fresh batch of pilgrims was allowed to proceed to the Amarnath cave shrine in the South Kashmir Himalayas, they said.

The pilgrims who had come from outside for the yatra are housed in the high-security Bhagwati Nagar base camp for their further journey to the twin base camps of Pahalgam and Baltal after reviewing the weather situation.

Over 4 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the ice lingam of Lord Shiva at the 3,880-meter-high cave shrine since the 38-day pilgrimage commenced on July 3 from the Valley.

"The yatra to the cave shrine from Jammu remained suspended today. It has been done in view of the inclement weather besides precautionary measures. No fresh batch was allowed from Jammu towards Amarnath," Yatra information official said.

This is the second time the yatra has been suspended from Jammu. On July 17, the yatra was called off due to heavy rains at the twin base camps in Kashmir.

A total of 1,44,124 pilgrims have departed from the Jammu base camp for the Valley since July 2, when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch.

Last year, over 5.10 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine, which houses a naturally formed ice lingam.

The pilgrimage is scheduled to end on August 9, coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan festival.