Amarnath Yatra Resumes After Six-Day Weather Halt as 6,000 Pilgrims Leave Jammu for the Holy Cave Shrine

The annual Amarnath Yatra resumed from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu on Saturday after being suspended for six days due to persistent rain and dangerous conditions along both pilgrimage routes. The restart brought relief to thousands of pilgrims who had been waiting since July 19, when the yatra was halted as a precautionary measure. Separately, the Jammu and Kashmir government released the ministerial attendance schedule for the Civil Secretariat in Jammu for August.

Amarnath Yatra Resumes After Six-Day Halt, 6,000 Pilgrims Head for Cave Shrine

The annual Amarnath Yatra resumed from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu on July 25 after a six-day suspension forced by persistent rainfall and hazardous conditions across Jammu and Kashmir. The halt had begun on July 19 as a precautionary measure, with officials citing dangerous weather along both the traditional 48-kilometre Pahalgam route through Anantnag district and the shorter 14-kilometre Baltal route through Ganderbal district to the holy cave shrine. Compounding the disruption, the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway itself was closed for three days following landslides and shooting stones at multiple locations along the Udhampur-Ramban stretch — cutting off the road corridor that pilgrims use to travel from Jammu to the Kashmir Valley.

The resumption came with the 18th batch of the season: 6,269 pilgrims, including 1,470 women, 25 children, and 54 Sadhus, departed at around 2:40 in the morning in a convoy of 223 vehicles, all bound for the Baltal base camp. No convoy was sent via the Pahalgam route on this occasion. The cave shrine sits at an elevation of 3,880 metres.

Since the yatra season opened, nearly four lakh pilgrims have completed the journey to the shrine. Of that total, approximately 1.20 lakh started from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu, where Lt Governor Manoj Sinha formally flagged off the first batch of the season on July 2, one day before the pilgrimage's official start date. Pilgrims departing from the Jammu base camp travel to Kashmir in escorted convoys under tight security arrangements. The yatra is scheduled to conclude on August 28, the date that coincides with the festival of Raksha Bandhan. [1]

🗳️ J&K Government Issues August Ministerial Roster for Jammu Civil Secretariat

The Jammu and Kashmir government has released the official ministerial attendance schedule for the Civil Secretariat in Jammu for August 2026. An order issued by the General Administration Department confirms that Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary is assigned to be present at the Civil Secretariat in Jammu from August 3 to 7, 2026.

The ministerial roster for the Jammu Civil Secretariat is a routine but practically significant administrative mechanism. Because Jammu and Kashmir operates its government across two cities — with full civil secretariat offices active in both Srinagar and Jammu — ministers rotate their presence on a scheduled basis so that neither city is left without direct ministerial access for extended stretches. For citizens, public officials, and departments in Jammu who have matters requiring ministerial attention, the published schedule clarifies precisely when they can expect Deputy Chief Minister Choudhary's presence at the local secretariat.

For residents and businesses in Jammu, knowing when the Deputy Chief Minister will be in the city offers a practical window for direct engagement, whether for civic petitions, departmental approvals, or high-level consultations. The roster for the first full working week of August signals that the administration intends to maintain active governance presence in Jammu even during the monsoon season, which can complicate travel across the region and tends to concentrate administrative attention on weather-related emergencies. For Jammu's business community, public sector employees, and citizens with pending matters before the state administration, the schedule provides a clear opportunity for engagement. The order was published by the General Administration Department on July 25, 2026. [8]

Sources: [1] Deccan Herald · [8] Greater Kashmir