Lala Amarnath was the first Test captain of independent India in 1948.\n\n
Of these, 64,993 pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine till Tuesday evening, while over 1,500 had darshan on Wednesday morning.
Vehicular movement was badly affected on the busy Vikas Marg, Akshardham, Deepali Chowk, Wazirpur, Moolchand and the Delhi-Jaipur Highway. Carrying VHP flags, slogan-shouting supporters of the Sangh Parivar started assembling at various intersections at about 0900 hours for their two-hour nationwide road blockade stir.
The Manali-Leh National Highway-3 was blocked after heavy rainfall triggered landslide in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district on Friday.
The annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir started Friday amid tight security and despite the rains along the route this morning.
The yatra was suspended for three hours as explosives experts removed the IED and then checked the entire area all over again, official sources said.
Demanding deployment of army in Kashmir to bring back normalcy, Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangrash Samiti, which had spearheaded the land agitation in Jammu last year, on Friday gave a call for a Jammu bandh on Saturday to protest the alleged attempts to disrupt the pilgrimage.
Curfew-like restrictions were imposed on Saturday in parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar city, and Amarnath yatra suspended as authorities apprehended protests in the Valley, where tension prevailed following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by security forces.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar is least excited at the selection of Duncan Fletcher as thr coach of Team India and said someone like Mohinder Amarnath would have been a better choice.
Militants have blown up a bridge on the route to the holy shrine of Amarnath.
The Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti (AYSS) on Thursday asked the local Congress leaders to have the demand for restoration of land to Sri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) conceded by the UPA government or else resign from the party and join the agitation.
All 10 members of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board sent in their resignations to Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra on Wednesday.
The Amarnath yatra was suspended on Saturday due to closure of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in the wake of a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Udhampur district of the state.
The ongoing Amarnath yatra was suspended from Jammu on Saturday due to inclement weather and to control heavy rush of devotees thronging the 13,500 feet cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
The green panel ordered removal of iron grills in front of the ice stalagmite resembling the 'Shiva Linga' so that devotees could get a better view of it and said there should be no noise pollution near the sacred structure.
A meeting of senior police and civil officers under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Pawan Kotwal was held on Friday to review the yatra arrangements.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday chose former India batsman Mohinder Amarnath as the recipient of the C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award. Amarnath scored 4,378 runs from 69 Test matches, in a Test career that stretched from 1969 to 1988. He also played 85 One-Day Internationals, in which he scored 1,924 runs.
The annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath will begin on June 28 this year and it will be spread over 55 days. The yatra schedule was announced after a meeting of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board chaired by SASB Chairman and Governor N N Vohra.
As former selector Mohinder Amarnath and other former players launched an offensive against Mahendra Singh Dhoni by questioning his place in the Test side, the Indian captain was calmness personified on the eve of the fourth and final Test in Nagpur.
The first batch comprising 1,160 Amarnath yatris was on Friday flagged off by the state tourism minister from Jammu base camp to the holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
Voicing concern over nearly 100 deaths in the course of the Amarnath Yatra, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday demanded extension of the pilgrimage period and proper medical facilities and accommodation for the pilgrims.
Gulmarg was the coldest place in Kashmir on Sunday.
Sheikh Salim Gafur has been selected for the honour as he displayed some rare grit and bravery and continued to drive the bus of the Amarnath pilgrims, which came under attack by the terrorists on July 10, 2017, in Jammu and Kashmir, a home ministry official said.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said there was no increased threat perception to this year's Amarnath yatra compared to previous years and fears of attack as reported in the media were "gross exaggeration".
The annual Amarnath Yatra began on Wednesday under a tight security cover, with the first batch of 1,272 pilgrims leaving the Jammu base camp for the cave shrine, located at an altitude of 3,338-metres.A cavalcade of 53 vehicles carrying the devotees under tight security was flagged off by Tourism and Culture Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora from the Amarnath base camp at Bagwatinagar Yatri Niwas at approximately 5 am. Security is being provided by the Central Reserve Police Force
The annual Amarnath yatra to the 3,880-metre high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas will commence on June 28 and culminate, as per the tradition, on the day of Raskha Bandhan festival on August 22, officials said.
Almost 3,000 Border Security Force personnel have been airlifted to Kashmir from New Delhi to guard devotees embarking on the Amarnath yatra, that commences from July 1, and protecting the route.
A massive manhunt has been launched for the four terrorists
Sixty-year-old Nirmala Tripathi, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, died of cardiac arrest at the 3,880 metre high cave shrine after paying obeisance to the naturally formed ice-shivlingam on Thursday night, the officials said.
The Amarnath yatra resumed on Friday, after it remained suspended for the last three days due to inclement weather, with a batch of 1,860 pilgrims leaving from Jammu for their onward journey to the cave shrine in south Kashmir.
'With all outlets of public expression virtually choked for the last five years, suppressed anger and frustration is looking for an opening via the ballot box.' 'There is no escape from the inevitability of the 'Engineer Rashid' factor surfacing in a big enough way to upset everyone's applecart,' alerts Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The crisis over the start date of the Amarnath Yatra deepened with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad showing no signs of relenting and a top VHP leader on Tuesday stating that Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti will lead a contingent of devotees to the cave shrine on June 3. The board has left sadhus all across India angry by disobeying him, he added.
Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti (AYSS) on Wednesday announced the launch of civil disobedience movement in Jammu region.
Tension gripped the north Kashmir Baltel base camp of the annual Amarnath yatra following clashes between security forces and locals on Thursday evening.
The decision to revoke the order was taken by the state cabinet which met in Srinagar under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Saturday's batch left in a fleet of 126 vehicles, including 89 buses, under proper escort, they said, adding the motorcade of vehicles have already crossed Batote around 0940 hours and would be stopped at Chanderkote near Ramban as road ahead is blocked.
Three persons, including two devotees, were killed and over 10,000 pilgrims stranded as heavy rain lashed parts of Jammu and Kashmir prompting authorities to suspend the annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath on Sunday.
Mohinder Amarnath feels irrational scheduling of the Indian Premier League was a major factor in India's debacle in the Twenty20 World Cup and also questioned the purpose of India's short tour to the West Indies.
