Amarnath pilgrimage resumes after weather improvement

Srinagar July 06: A day after the ongoing Amarnath pilgrimage was temporarily halted due to bad weather, nearly 10,000 Hindu pilgrims left for the Himalayan cave shrine in the Kashmir valley on a sunny Monday.
Weather improved a lot Monday and there was no downpour on the Amarnath cave temple track, said a spokesman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) that manages the affairs of the pilgrimage.
Over 6,000 pilgrims were allowed to proceed towards the Holy cave from the north Kashmir Baltal camp while 3,500 started their journey towards the temple from south Kashmir Pahalgam route, the spokesman said.
The pilgrimage was suspended Sunday from both north and south Kashmir routes after it rained heavily.
Another batch of 2,217 pilgrims left the winter capital Jammu for the Kashmir valley, the spokesman said. Over 200,000 pilgrims have visited the shrine that houses the iced stalagmite believed to be an icon of Lord Shiva's mythical powers. (IANS)