The Amarnath Yatra, which has been suspended from the Baltal route following the cloudburst, is expected to resume from Monday.
“After the restoration of Srinagar-Baltal road, the yatra is expected to resume (with) vigour and momentum, from tomorrow(Monday) onwards, if there were no unforeseen interruptions due to inclement weather,” Governor N. N. Vohra was informed during a review meeting here.
Mr.Vohra, who is also the Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), reviewed the current status of the restoration works which were being carried out to clear the enormous debris which had flowed downhill near the Baltal base camp after heavy rain and cloudburst on Friday night.
Senior SASB officials had rushed to the base camp on Saturday morning to co-ordinate the rescue and rehabilitation works, an official spokesman said.
The CEO of the SASB P. K. Tripathi informed the Governor that by deploying the required manpower and machinery, the enormous accumulation of debris had since been largely cleared and the parking space near the base camp had been restored for use.
The Governor was also informed that the road from Srinagar to Baltal is likely to be opened for two-way traffic from Monday for the movement of convoys of pilgrims from the Manigam camp to Baltal.
Three persons including two children were killed while 19 others were injured after a cloudburst struck in the Baltal area on Friday night, forcing suspension of the pilgrimage from the shorter route on Saturday.
“Power and water supply are fully functional and sufficient stocks of essential commodities are also available at the base camp. All the langars, except one which suffered some damage, are functioning normally in Baltal,” the spokesman said.
Mr. Tripathi said despite stoppages and hold-ups on the Baltal end, the pilgrimage had continued without any interruption from the Pahalgam route.
The helicopter services have been functioning normally and over 4,000 yatris had “darshan” at the cave by Sunday evening, taking the total number of yatris who have paid obeisance to 2,95,000. PTI
