Amarnath Yatra was on Friday suspended on Baltal and Pahalgam routes due to incessant rainfall since Thursday night.
At least 600 pilgrims traveling to the Amarnath shrine, led by Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers, on Sunday courted arrest after they were prevented from proceeding towards the hill shrine by the state administration. The date of the yatra was fixed on June 25 by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. But the pilgrims tried to start the yatra from Sunday, defying the prohibitory orders clamped to deter them.
A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said that due silence has to be maintained only in front of the ice stalagmite resembling the 'ShivaLinga'.
The annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath shrine will begin on Monday albeit only from the Baltel route as the traditional south route via Pahalgam is still snow-bound.
The 'pratham pujan' which marks the beginning of the annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath was held on Wednesday at Panjtarni, on the Pahalgam-cave shrine trek.
The Holy mace of Lord Shiva reached the 3,880 metre-high holy cave shrine of Amarnath on Saturday morning coinciding with the Hindu festival of Rakhsha Bandan, marking the end of the two-month annual pilgrimage, official sources said.
A prominent Indian diaspora body has urged various agencies of the US government, universities and student associations to work towards addressing the spike in the deaths of Indian-origin students in the US in recent months.
'Based upon the circumstances, the Board decided with heavy heart that it is not advisable to hold and conduct this year's Shri Amarnathji Yatra and expressed its regret to announce the cancellation of Yatra 2020,' the SASB said in a statement.
Amid chanting of religious hymns and tolling of bells, the annual Amarnath Yatra began on Tuesday with the first batch of 2,837 pilgrims starting their journey from Jammu to the cave shrine in south Kashmir, protected by a three-tier security ring.
Nine people including three women were killed and 33 injured as a bus carrying pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh and Delhi plunged into a deep gorge after an ambush by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district on Sunday evening, police said, as political leaders cutting across party lines strongly condemn the dastardly attack.
Speculation is rife that former India batsman Mohinder Amarnath could be replaced by Roger Binny as selector and may lose out on becoming chairman of the national selection committee following differences with incumbent chairman K Srikkanth.
The pilgrims have been asked not to proceed to the cave in view of threat of landslides posed by heavy rains, the officials said adding they have been asked to take shelter in the specially erected shelter-sheds on both the routes.
The ice Shiv lingam has melted down owing to the rise in temperature.
Weather affects the shape and size of the icelingam.
The Yatra has been suspended as there has been snowfall at several places.
Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday said Amarnath Yatra would resume on Tuesday from Jammu base camp after being suspended for the last three days due to the curfew.
Former India captains Bishan Singh Bedi and Anil Kumble along with yesteryear's great Mohinder Amarnath had deposed before the Justice Lodha Committee as they prepare an exhaustive report on the restructuring and reforms that need to be carried by the BCCI.
Hero of the 1983 World Cup, Mohinder Amarnath and in-form opener Gautam Gambhir hogged the limelight at the annual awards function of the Cricket Board held in Mumbai on Sunday.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Thursday refused to accept the date fixed by Shri Amarnath Shrine Board for the annual pilgrimage to the cave temple in south Kashmir Himalayas, saying the yatra this year will commence on June 4 for which it will begin registering pilgrims from Friday.
Mahant Deependra Giri, the custodian of the holy mace, accompanied by over 100 'sadhus' reached the shrine with the Charri Mubarak this morning, Shri Amarnath Shrine Board officials said.
Union Ministers Jitendra Singh and Hansraj Ahir assure Mehbooba Mufti of the Centre's support.
The police claimed the bus driver had violated rules for the pilgrimage.
Describing the Amarnath yatra as the most secular pilgrimage in the world, Jammu and Kashmir Governor S K Sinha said it symbolises the pluralistic ethos of Kashmir.
Mahant Dipendra Giri and a group of sadhus, who carried the Chhari Mubarik, (holy mace of Lord Shiva) were among the first to have the darshan on Tuesday morning.
The sole Indian in contention said that he wasn't disappointed at losing out on the job of India coach.
Former India cricketer Mohinder Amarnath on Monday criticised Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men for taking a depleted Australian side too lightly and said the hosts' overconfidence eventually cost them the ODI series.
The holy lingam (phallic symbol of Shiva) at the shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas melted 10 days back, Chief Executive Officer (Ecology), Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, Arun Kumar told PTI.
"I am certainly interested in the job and have the time\nto devote to it," said the former India cricketer.
The 37-day annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath will commence from June 25, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board which manages the yatra said.
The 39-day long annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath concluded on Thursday amid traditional prayers at the cave shrine.
The two-month old Amarnath pilgrimage concluded on Wednesday with a group of devotees carrying the mace of Lord Shiva to the 3,880 metre high cave shrine in South Kashmir.
Sixty-seven villages in Assam's Lakhimpur district have been battling flood waters for the last six months.
The yatra to the Holy cave shrine of Amarnath resumed on Saturday morning from north Kashmir's Baltel route after remaining suspended on Friday.
The annual Amarnath yatra has been re-scheduled and will now commence from June 15. The postponement has been forced by the presence of heavy snow on the yatra route to the Himalayan Cave Shrine located at a height of 13000 feet from both southern Chandanwari and northern Baltal routes.
The Amarnath yatra, suspended for two days, resumed from Jammu on Friday.
Heavy rains were lashing Pahalgam and Baltal sections of Amarnath routes and tracks have become slippery.
A cloudburst hit the the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas but there was no report of any casualties.
A rescue team recovered the body of Delhi resident Shailendra, 30, from the landslide-hit area along the Baltal route of the pilgrimage on Wednesday, a police official said.
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