Jammu & Kashmir, June 28: Due to heavy rains, the annual Amarnath Yatra was stalled from Pahalgam as well as from Baltal in Jammu and Kashmir. The showers have started since Wednesday evening, and India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted rains for the next 48 hours. It said some regions in the state will have cloudy weather for at least two days. The pilgrims have been asked to stay in their respective base-camps.

In the midst of tight security, the first batch of nearly 3,000 Amarnath pilgrims, who started from Jammu, reached the twin base camps at Baltal and Pahalgam on Wednesday evening. According to India TV news report, out of this group of pilgrims, 1,904 have opted for traditional Pahalgam route while 1,091 choose the Baltal route to reach the Himalayan cave shrine in south Kashmir. The pilgrims coming from across the country, where taken to their respective base camps. They were welcomed by Deputy Commissioner Udhampur Ravinder Kumar & SP Udhampur Faisal Qureshi, at Tikri.

In order to ensure the safety of the pilgrims, for the first time, government is using radio frequency (RF) tags to track Amarnath-bound vehicles, and the CRPF has introduced motorcycle squads with cameras and various life-saving equipment. Meanwhile, all border police stations, posts and check-points have also been directed to be strengthened and activated to neutralize any attempt of infiltration by terrorists from across the International Border (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC). The two-month-long pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre high cave shrine of Amarnath will commence on June 28 and will conclude on August 26.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 28, 2018 08:46 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).