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The Times of India
The Times of India
National
M Saleem Pandit | TNN

Jammu and Kashmir: Amarnath Yatra resumes from Baltal side after cloudburst which killed 15 pilgrims

SRINAGAR: The shri AmarnathJi Shrine Board (SASB) after four days suspension on Tuesday resumed pilgrimage to the holy cave located at 13,000 feet above sea-level in the Himalayas on south of Kashmir valley .

More than 7,000 yatris (Pilgrims) left Dumail towards the holy cave early Tuesday morning after four days suspension in the wake of the cloudburst killing fifteen pilgrims. However, all the missing persons were traced, a top police officer told TOI.

He said: "the tragedy would have been huge and death toll had gone significantly high, if the Aarti Puja at the cave been done at 6.15PM on Friday evening when the floods and gushing waters hit the low lying camp".

The officer said that over 200 pilgrims were busy with Aarti puja inside the Lord Shiva (Barfaani Baba) cave at the time when the disaster occurred .

An official said Amarnath Yatra resumed as fresh batch of yatris was allowed to proceed towards the holy cave from Baltal Base Camp Tuesday morning.

The authorities, according to the officials, have identified all the 15 dead pilgrims and even dispatched the bodies to their natives places. The officer dispelled the rumours of the death of 16 pilgrims. "We recovered only 15 bodies and all the bodies were identified by their relatives and friends," he added.

So far over one lakh people have done Darshan of the holy cave. The pilgrimage to the Himalayas commenced on June 30, 2022.

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