Amarnath Yatra suspended from Jammu as rain hampers highway restoration

JAMMU: (Aug 1) Amarnath Yatra was suspended from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here on Saturday as the 250-km strategic Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained closed for the second consecutive day, due to incessant rain, officials said.

No fresh batch of pilgrims was allowed to leave the Jammu base camp for the Kashmir Valley due to repair work underway on the Ladha-Samroli stretch of the highway in Udhampur district, they said.

Both sides of the highway (NH44), the only all-weather road linking the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country, were shut to traffic on Friday shortly after the passage of the Amarnath Yatra convoy to repair the damage caused by rain last week.