13 buses carrying Amarnath yatris halted in Kathua

KATHUA:Authorities have stopped 13 buses, carrying around 2,000 pilgrims, at Lakhanpur due to overcrowding of Bhagwarti Nagar base camp following the suspension of Amarnath Yatra due to bad weather.
“We came to know that Bhagwati Nagar base camp is full. If more yatris are allowed to reach Jammu, they would face a lot of hardship there, so we decided to stop the movement of Jammu-bound yatri vehicles at Lakhanpur, the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir,” an official said.
He said “proper arrangements have been made for their stay at several places”.
The vehicles will be allowed to proceed towards Jammu only after the prevailing weather conditions in the state improve and the onward journey from the Bhagwati Nagar base is resumed, the official said.
The annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine remained suspended for the second consecutive day today due to inclement weather conditions even though Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was thrown open for light vehicles. (AGENCIES)