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.
Two Amarnath pilgrims died and 23 people, including 5 pilgrims, were injured in separate mishaps in Jammu region.
Police said the tragedy was caused by loosening of the stones by recent rains and high velocity winds near the holy cave.
A day after Kedarnath, the portals of famous Himalayan shrine of Badrinath were reopened on Monday for pilgrims after a gap of six months.
Toeing the Centre's line for cordial ties with Sri Lanka, key United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munettra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Wednesday virtually blamed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for attacks on Lankan pilgrims, saying her action in sending back a football team from that country had led to the incidents.
'The Galwan clash in 2020 resulted in a large number of troops being moved from J&K to Eastern Ladakh which caused a thinning of deployment in the Jammu area.'
On Monday, five Army personnel were killed and five injured when heavily armed terrorists hurled a grenade and opened indiscriminate fire on two army vehicles around 3.30 pm on the Machedi-Kindli-Malhar mountainous road near Badnota village, about 150 km from the district headquarters Kathua.
The first batch of 401 state pilgrims on Tuesday left for Haj in two Air India flights from the Srinagar international airport.
More than 600 people have visited hospitals and medical camps in Puri. However, only over 130 have been admitted to hospital, said Director of Health Services, Bijay Mohapatra.
The Save Sharda Committee (SSC) in Bengaluru on Friday sought the help of the Indian government to remove the 'encroachment by the Pakistan Army' on the Sharda temple premises in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK), in order to pave way for its restoration.
The police claimed the bus driver had violated rules for the pilgrimage.
A record number of over 18.2 lakh (1.8 million) pilgrims have visited the shrine so far since January one.
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.
A group of 213 Hindu pilgrims from Pakistan on Sunday paid obeisance at the Vaishnodevi cave shrine in Trikuta hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Sri Lankan pilgrims were targeted for the second day on Tuesday with three buses carrying them to the Tiruchirapalli airport attacked by activists of Tamil outfits.
The Yatri Niwas Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu serves as the main base camp for the pilgrims from across the country.
As Ayodhya readies itself for the glittering, much-awaited consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir on January 22, and as millions of pilgrims and devotees pour into the holy city for the momentous event, companies are rushing to do their bit and be a part of the mega celebrations. Some are offering a part of their profits as donations, telcos are beefing up the number of cellular towers to ensure better connectivity, and there are those distributing jalebis and food platters.
The Election Commission has asked the Union government to enact a law to ban the release of opinion poll results after the notification of elections.
Two pilgrims to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in Kashmir died on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 10 in the ongoing annual pilgrimage, official sources said.
Many low-lying areas in West Bengal's sub-Himalayan region were reeling from a flood-like situation while major rivers in Bihar were flowing above the danger level at several places as unabated heavy rain lashed the country's eastern parts on Sunday.
The Supreme Court on Thursday held that it is government's constitutional obligation to provide basic facilities to pilgrims who visit religious places and directed the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government to ensure proper health and other amenities to Amarnath yatris.
The fundamental construct of India's neighbourhood policy still needs to be what Vajpayee postulated, Manmohan Singh embraced, and Modi energised. It's just that we need to junk domestic politics and excessive religiosity, while acquiring much humility and a renewed respectfulness towards our neighbours, recommends Shekhar Gupta.
A policeman was also injured in the gunfight that broke out in Bajaad village in the Gandoh area around 9:50 am.
Twenty pilgrims, including 15 women, were killed and 50 injured when an over-loaded mini truck rolled down a 100 feet deep gorge near village Nari on the Hoshiarpur-Dharmsala road in the wee hours on Thursday.
The first batch of 900 pilgrims on Thursday left for Jeddah in three flights from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi to attend the annual Haj pilgrimage.
So far Army helicopters have rescued 45 persons, and despite the inclement weather prevailing in the area were making regular sorties to rescue the remaining pilgrims
Bike-borne unidentified gunmen on Tuesday shot dead at least 26 Shia Muslim pilgrims in cold-blood in southwest Pakistan's Balochistan province after forcing them out of a bus.
A terrorist holed up in a border village in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district was killed by security forces on Wednesday in a more than 15-hour operation during which his partner was also shot dead and a CRPF jawan lost his life, officials said.
China on Monday opened the second land crossing in Tibet via Nathu La to allow the first batch of Indian pilgrims undertaking the arduous Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra, in the latest confidence-building measure between the two neighbours.
Pilgrims at the ongoing Maha Kumbh mela in Allahabad faced a tough time on Wednesday due to the nationwide strike called by central trade unions which has brought movement of Uttar Pradesh roadways buses to a standstill.
Gunmen ambushed a bus carrying Shia pilgrims in Balochistan province of southwest Pakistan on Friday killing 18 people in the latest in a string of attacks in the region targeting the minority community.
As many as 73 people have been killed and 170 injured in twin blasts near the burial site of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani in the Iranian city of Kerman on Wednesday in what officials called a terror attack, according to state media, as per CNN.
The numbers nosedived to 2810 on July 23, a day after the Tanda army camp attack, followed by 2802 on July 24, 2516 on July 25, 2343 on July 26 and 1735 on July 27, they said.
At least 12 pilgrims from Jharkhand were killed and 13 others injured when a truck hit a stranded bus on Durgapur Expressway at Chanditala in Hooghly district early Wednesday, the police said.
The bus in which they were travelling rolled down a gorge at Banihal in Doda district.
Unidentified men attacked some pilgrims sleeping outside the famous Siddhivinayak temple in central Mumbai late on Monday night.No arrests have been made in connection with the case so far, said the police.Some TV channels, which showed clippings of the attackers beating up the pilgrims, claimed that the attack was carried out by members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. However, MNS leader Atul Sarpotdar denied his party's role in the incident.
At least 39 pilgrims, mostly Indians, were killed on Sunday when an overcrowded bus skidded off a slippery road and plunged into a flooded canal in southern Nepal.
Ten pilgrims died en route to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas since Monday night, taking the toll during this year's pilgrimage to 61, officials said.
