An indefinite curfew was imposed in the entire Jammu city on Thursday morning following fresh tension in the wake of a youth's suicide against the revocation of the forest land allotment to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. Police and Central Reserve Police Force troopers have been deployed in strength to enforce curfew restrictions in the city.
The ongoing pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas was on Tuesday suspended from Pahalgam and Baltal base camps as heavy rains lashed parts of the Valley, officials said in Srinagar.
The advisory comes in the wake of the recent inclement weather along the Nepalganj-Simikot-Hilsa route of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nepal, and the consequent stranding of pilgrims for over a week.
Yet another controversy dogged this year's edition of Amarnath pilgrimage with the state government and the shrine board locking horns over the issue of helicopter services for the affluent pilgrims.
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.
Those familiar with intricate Kashmir politics do not rule out further delay in the assembly elections. Primarily, because the BJP having 'invested' so much for so long in Kashmir would try its best to wait a little longer if only to secure the 'gains' it believes to have achieved after its deafening action on August 5, 2019, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The recently reconstituted Shri Amarnath Shrine Board on Monday took a major decision appointing a high profile panel for the preservation of the environment enroute and around the Holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
According to a press statement issued after the all-party meeting, communalisation of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir should be prevented at all costs as this would adversely impact the secular fabric of the nation.
A fresh batch of 6,162 pilgrims, including 1,360 women and 222 Sadhus on Monday left the winter capital for the twin base camps of Baltal and Pahalgam in Kashmir, officials said.
An official said the attack appears to be a reprisal for killing of several Lashkar terrorists.
Jaswant Singh, a 35 year-old vegetable seller, sprinkled kerosene on his body and set himself ablaze at his shop in the presence of dozens of people while chanting Bum bum bholay in Gagwal village of Kathua district, official sources said in Jammu.
From calling the selectors 'a bunch of jokers' to being named as the new selector, life has come a full circle for Mohinder Amarnath. The former India all-rounder will replace Yashpal Sharma in the national selection committee in the only change to the panel.
The condition of three of the injured is stated to be serious.
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This year's annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath nestled in the Himalayas in south Kashmir is slated to begin from June 29. The month and a half long yatra shall end on August 13, coinciding with the 'Raksha Bandan' festival.
Four Amarnath pilgrims died due to cardiac arrest en route to the cave shrine in Kashmir Himalayas over the past three days, taking the death toll in this year's pilgrimage to 15, officials said in Srinagar on Sunday.
Former India batsman Sandeep Patil was appointed chairman of the national selection committee on Thursday, while Mohinder Amarnath was sacked after serving just a year on the panel.
Kashmir continued to be under a state of curfew and security forces continued to be on a state of high alert for the second consecutive day across the Valley.
The hard-line separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Friday threatened agitation 'in case the annual Amarnath yatra is not restricted to the original 15 day schedule.'
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Monday convened an all-party meet on the Amarnath issue on August 6.
Police said the tragedy was caused by loosening of the stones by recent rains and high velocity winds near the holy cave.
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.
Expressing "shock" over the growing number of Amarnath pilgrims' death, which has risen to 97, the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to immediately deploy medical aid teams for the yatris.
Anantnag, Kulgam and Pulwama are already under curfew following the death of three youths on Monday in clashes between the Central Reserve Police Force and stone-pelters. Anantnag and Pahalgam towns fall on the Jammu-Pahalgam pilgrimage route. But those taking the North Kashmir Baltal route to reach the cave shrine have to pass through Bijbehara, Awantipore and Pampore towns in the south.
The authorities on Sunday seized a helicopter belonging to a private operator for allegedly making unauthorised sorties between Srinagar and Baltal, the base camp of the Amarnath yatra, in Ganderbal district of Kashmir.
It has been suspended due to incessant rains.
India, led by a young Kapil Dev, shocked the cricketing world as they upset the mighty West Indies in the final to win their first World Cup.
The Amarnath yatra is not only a great bondage between the Hindu pilgrims and local Muslims who facilitate the yatra, but has also helped maintained a deep relationship in thought and aspiration between Kashmir and other parts of India that has existed for thousands of years.
One more pilgrim on Monday died while returning from 3,880-mt high Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, taking the death toll in the ongoing yatra to 98.
Six pilgrims died en route to the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, taking the death toll during the pilgrimage to 30 this year, officials said.
The annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath began on Saturday with over 7,000 pilgrims trekking the 17-km northern Baltel route.
The encounter broke on Monday when the terrorists opened fire on an army convoy, on its way to Srinagar, at Qazigund on Jammu-Srinagar national highway. One soldier was killed in the attack while another sustained injuries.
The annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath took off on Sunday as the first batch of pilgrims set off from winter capital Jammu in the morning.
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The state government has alerted the Army, air force and other agencies to meet any eventuality in light of the inclement weather along the twin mountain treks, north Kashmir Baltel and south Kashmir Pahalgam to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath.
Three persons were killed and 19 others injured after a cloudburst struck near the base camp of Amarnath yatra along the shorter 16-km Baltal route to the cave shrine in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district, officials said on Saturday.
The traditional Pahalgam route for the annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in Kashmir will open on July 9, an official of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board said in Srinagar on Monday.
