Rains disrupt Amarnath Yatra

Jammu/ Srinagar : The Amarnath Yatra was disrupted by intermittent rains on Saturday as only 3,124 pilgrims visited the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, while the death toll in the ongoing pilgrimage reached 33, officials said.

The yatra, however, resumed from Jammu after a day-long suspension with a fresh batch of 3,926 pilgrims, including 785 women and 240 sadhus, leaving the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for Kashmir, they said.

The pilgrims had reached safely to the twin base camps of Pahalgam and Baltal in the evening, the officials said. "On the 27th day of the ongoing Shri Amarnathji Yatra, 3,142 Yatris paid obeisance at the holy cave on Saturday.

Till date 3,17,726 Yatris had the darshan of the naturally formed Shivlingam at the shrine," an official spokesman said.

This was the lowest number of pilgrims offering their prayers at the shrine since the commencement of the yatra from the twin routes -- 36-km traditional Pahalgam in Anantnag district and shorter 14-km Baltal track in Ganderbal district -- on July 1.