200 Telugu pilgrims stranded as rain halts Amarnath yatra

Hyderabad/Vijaywada: Around 200 Amarnath yatra devotees from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are stranded for the second consecutive day at Baltal and Pahalgam base camps in Jammu and Kashmir. Officials have already stopped Amarnath yatra for two days in the wake of bad weather conditions prevailing there.
Around 1,500 devotees were held up at Panchatarani base camp after completing the darshan at the famous holy shrine of Amarnath.Owing to incessant heavy rainfall, the pilgrimage has been suspended and onward journey has been halted as a safety measure.
The pilgrims are now staying in shelters set up at Baltal and Nunwan base camps. Sources said the Telangana government had reached out to the Kashmir authorities to support the evacuation process of the pilgrims.
Telugu pilgrims said though they received local support, they are worried about being marooned in the downpour. “There is no scope to leave Baltal for us and there is no respite from the rains either. These shelters here are vulnerable. We seek support from the government to evacuate us as soon as possible,” Ramalinga Rao, a pilgrim from Telangana, said.
Around 800 devotees from Andhra Pradesh went to Amarnath yatra.
EE Seshu Babu said they got little help from the local authorities. “We were struck at Panchatarani since Friday. We have completed the darshan and been waiting for a helicopter. Officials cancelled the helicopter service considering the bad weather. No official came to our rescue. Temperature fell to minus degrees and we fell sick. A charitable organisation is providing some food for us,” Seshu Babu said.
Another devotee K Sudhakar spoke about extreme weather conditions at Baltal camp. “We usually don’t see such weather conditions. People above 50 years are facing problems to adjust to this severe weather conditions. Sudden rains damaged the roads. We don’t even have internet connectivity to make payments. Response from government authorities is pathetic. We want AP government to help us,” Sudhakar said.
Meanwhile, family members of the Amarnath pilgrims are anxious as the news of bad weather spread. They are approaching collector offices across AP seeking support.
NTR district authorities said that they are trying to get the contact details of the authorities in Kashmir.
Around 82,000 pilgrims from across the country visited to offer prayers to the Shivlinga at a height of 3,888 metres in the South Kashmir Himalayas. The yatra started on July 1 and is expected to continue till August 31.