Vaishno Devi Yatra Suspended Amid Bad Weather; Amarnath Yatra Also Halted

The pilgrimage has been temporarily suspended to ensure the safety of worshipers in bad weather conditions.

Pilgrims have been advised to stay updated on the resumption of the Yatra through official channels. The pilgrimage is expected to resume once the weather conditions improve and the route becomes safe for movement.

Authorities are monitoring the situation closely. The region is also expected to experience widespread rainfall, thunderstorms and heavy showers in the coming days.

A large number of devotees were seen worshiping from a distance due to uncertainty regarding the weather and the continuation of the Yatra. Many expressed their disappointment at not being able to complete their journey as they had visited for ‘darshan’.

Rekha, one of the devotees traveling from Gujarat’s Jamnagar district, said, “I came with a lot of hope; now my heart aches as I cannot go. It has rained, you see, it has rained all night, so they are not letting us go. They say it can take five days. If the weather is good after five days, they say they will allow it, otherwise they say the time may be longer.”

Another devotee from Jamnagar said that it was difficult to stay for more days for the opening of the Yatra. “We came for Mata Rani’s darshan but we cannot go because of the rain here. People here refuse [us entry]He says, ‘Come back in three or four days, this place is closed right now.’ It is very difficult for us too, how can we stay for four days? There are too many problems. We’re going back now. Hotel rents are also very high here. “We can’t stay for four or five days.”

Expressing similar sentiments about the administration’s decision, a devotee from Odisha said, “We have been here for at least four to five days. We were supposed to have our Darshan now. But the district administration and the weather department have issued an alert saying that the weather will remain like this for two or three days and no devotees should be allowed to go up. We came from far away from Odisha with great hope. But now we will have to be disappointed.”

The weather has also affected the ongoing Amarnath Yatra; Jammu and Kashmir administration on Sunday officially suspended both Pahalgam and Baltal routes to ensure the safety of pilgrims after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a heavy rain warning across the Union Territory.

The decision was taken as a precautionary measure considering the severe weather forecast to ensure the safety of thousands of devotees traveling in the region. The 57-day Amarnath Yatra started on July 3 and will end on August 28 on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.

While IMD has issued subdivision-wise warnings for extremely heavy rain, thunderstorm, lightning and thunderstorm in Jammu and Kashmir for July 20-21, there is a very heavy rain warning for July 22.