JAMMU, Aug 5: The annual Amarnath Yatra was suspended from the base camp here on Wednesday as authorities heightened security across Jammu and Kashmir on the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370.
Although the administration gave no specific reason for suspending the Amarnath Yatra from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu for the day, official sources said the step was taken as a precautionary measure due to the prevailing situation.
No fresh batch of pilgrims was allowed to leave the Jammu base camp for the twin base camps of Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal districts this morning, they said.
The sources said authorities also suspended the movement of security convoys on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, a measure generally adopted when security agencies seek to minimise movement on the strategic route which serves as the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country.
The suspension coincided with political parties, including the ruling National Conference, the Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), observing August 5 as a “Black Day” to mark the seventh anniversary of the Centre’s August 5, 2019 decision to revoke the special status of the erstwhile state under Article 370 and reorganise it into two Union Territories.
The three parties had announced separate protest programmes in Jammu and elsewhere, demanding the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status and full statehood.
The Amarnath Yatra, one of the country’s largest annual pilgrimages, is conducted under elaborate multi-layered security arrangements, with authorities frequently reviewing movement plans based on security assessments and intelligence inputs.
More than 4.60 lakh Amarnath pilgrims have paid obeisance at the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in southern Himalayas so far this year.
The pilgrimage started on July 3 and is scheduled to end on August 28, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan festival.
