Amarnath Yatra temporarily halted due to heavy rain

The Amarnath Yatra was temporarily halted on both paths to the cave temple on Saturday due to severe rainfall according to officialsIntermittent heavy rain has been observed along the Baltal and Pahalgam routes since the previous night The decision to halt the yatra was made as a precautionary step to guarantee the pilgrims safety officials explainedOver 150 lakh devotees have visited the 3800meterhigh cave sanctuary and received darshan of the naturally created ice lingamThe Amarnath Yatra began on June 29 with two routes the classic 48kilometre NunwanPahalgam route in Anantnag and the 14kilometre shorter but steeper Baltal route in Ganderbal The trip will end on August 19Last year more than 45 lakh pilgrims prayed at the subterranean sanctuaryTraffic Advisory Issued for Amarnath Yatra on NH44Another report by ANI stated that Jammu and Kashmir Traffic Police had issued an advisory on National Highway44 with specific cutoff timings and instructions for convoy and nonconvoy movements to ensure safe and efficient movement of pilgrims and other commuters during the Amarnath YatraSpeaking to ANI on Saturday Senior Superintendent of Police Traffic NH44 Rohit Baskotra outlined the guidelines for managing traffic during the pilgrimageAfter the Amarnath Yatra convoy sets off in the morning nonconvoy vehicles on NH44 can cross Nagrota around noon Jikhaini Udhampur around 1 pm Chandrakot Ramban around 2 pm and Banihal around 3 pm After these times they will not be allowed he statedIf there is a delay the vehicles will be held at these locations and released the next day I urge people to follow these cutoff times to ensure the safety and security of the pilgrims he addedA traffic police checkpoint is in place on NH44 to monitor traffic flow and safeguard the safety of Amarnath YatrisIn preparation for the yatra the Udhampur Health Department has stationed five mobile medical teams ambulances along the JammuSrinagar National Highway from Tikri to Chenani Nashri Tunnel in Udhampur This initiative aims to provide immediate medical assistance to pilgrims in case of emergencies during their journey These ambulances will be stationed at key locations and equipped with medical personnel and supplies Dr Anil Manhas Chief Medical Officer at Udhampur told ANIIn serious medical cases patients will be transported to designated referral centres including the Associated Hospital Government Medical College Udhampur the Primary Health Centre Tikri the Community Health Centre Chenani and the Primary Health Centre Majalta Twenty beds have been reserved at the Associated Hospital Medical College Udhampur with ten beds each at the Primary Health Centre Tikri Community Health Centre Chenani and Primary Health Centre Majalta