Amarnath pilgrimage to start from Baltal Monday

July 9th, 2009 SRINAGAR - A helicopter crashed near the Amarnath cave shrine Thursday morning killing one woman pilgrim on the spot and wounding five occupants, police said. The helicopter took off from north Kashmir's Baltal base camp early this morning, but crashed nearly 500 metres short of the helipad near the cave shrine, killing one woman on the ground and wounding all the five occupants including the captain, a senior police officer said.

July 6th, 2009 SRINAGAR - A day after the ongoing Amarnath pilgrimage was temporarily halted due to bad weather, nearly 10,000 Hindu pilgrims left for the Himalayan cave shrine in the Kashmir valley on a sunny Monday. Weather improved a lot Monday and there was no downpour on the Amarnath cave temple track, said a spokesman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) that manages the affairs of the pilgrimage.

June 24th, 2009 JAMMU - More than 15,000 pilgrims are stranded at the transit camp at Baltal as Amarnath yatra has been suspended from Jammu on Wednesday. According to sources, no batch was allowed to Baltal base camp from here today.

June 22nd, 2009 JAMMU - The ongoing Amarnath pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave temple in the Kashmir Valley was halted for a day Monday from here due to heavy rush of pilgrims on north Kashmir Baltal route. There was a heavy rush of pilgrims at Baltal, the only route opened for the Hindu shrine as suspense continued over the opening of the south Kashmir Pahalgam route.

June 20th, 2009 JAMMU - After initial weather related hindrances, a fresh batch of 1,935 pilgrims left Jammu on Saturday for its onward journey to the holy Amarnath cave shrine in Kashmir. The batch comprises 852 men, 325 women, 54 children and 704 ascetics left from the base camp at Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu at around 0450 hours amid tight security, officials said.

June 19th, 2009 SRINAGAR - The annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in Jammu and Kashmir continued smoothly Friday as Governor N.N. Vohra and about 6,000 pilgrims offered prayers there.

June 16th, 2009 SRINAGAR - The annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in the Kashmir Himalayas was halted Tuesday due to inclement weather as heavy rain lashed the mountainous track to the temple. The temple board advised the pilgrims not to proceed to the north Kashmir Baltal base camp Wednesday as incessant rains and adverse weather conditions led to slippery conditions on the 14-km long trek to the cave shrine.

June 15th, 2009 JAMMU - Lakhan Kishore, a pilgrim from Uttar Pradesh, is already here with his family for the Amarnath pilgrimage in the Kashmir Himalayas. But Kishore, who was among the first to register for the journey, is not sure of the dates he would be allowed to proceed towards the shrine and may have to stay on in Jammu for a day or two at least.

June 15th, 2009 JAMMU - Amid shouts of "Bam bam bhole", the traditional cry hailing Hindu god Shiva, the first batch of more than 2,500 pilgrims left early Monday morning for this year's annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir. Pilgrims from various parts of the country, especially Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana moved in 73 vehicles - 43 buses and 30 light motors - on their nearly 400 km journey from Jammu to Baltal.

June 15th, 2009 JAMMU - The first batch of pilgrims for this year's Sri Amarnath Yatra took off through Baltal route on Monday. The pilgrimage was flagged off Monday morning at the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu by Nawang Rigzin Jora, Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Tourism and Culture.

June 14th, 2009 JAMMU/SRINAGAR - A day before the annual Hindu pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir begins, the weather gods turned whimsical, lashing the region with continuous rain and snowfall Sunday. The entire journey stretch of more than 350 km from Jammu to the cave shrine, located at the height of 13,500 feet above sea level, in Himalayas in south Kashmir, was overcast with rain at many places, raising doubts about the safety of the pilgrims.

June 14th, 2009 SRINAGAR - A day before the annual Hindu pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir begins, the Indian Army Sunday stepped in to augment the snow clearance efforts as the weather gods turned whimsical, lashing the region with continuous rain and snow. The entire journey stretch of more than 350 km from Jammu to the cave shrine, located at the height of 13,500 feet above sea level in the Himalayas in south Kashmir, was overcast with rain at many places, raising fears about the safety of the pilgrims.

June 12th, 2009 JAMMU/SRINAGAR - The annual Amarnath pilgrimage that attracts tens of thousands of Hindus will start June 15 from Baltal, taking the shorter and steeper route to the Himalayan cave shrine in Jammu and Kashmir, it was announced here Friday. "The first batch of the pilgrims will leave Jammu on June 15 and would reach the cave shrine on June 16," a spokesman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) said in a release.

June 11th, 2009 JAMMU - A cloud of uncertainty hangs over the June 15 start of the Amarnath pilgrimage in Jammu and Kashmir as the tracks to the Himalayan cave shrine devoted to Hindu god Shiva are covered with heavy snow. Both the tracks to the shrine - a traditional route involving a 46 km trek from the tourist resort of Pahalgam, 100 km south of here, and a shorter and steep route via Baltal, 105 km north of here - are covered with heavy snow, said an official of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

June 11th, 2009 JAMMU - The Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Samiti (SAYSS), a conglomerate of over two dozen Hindu groups, Thursday warned of an agitation if the pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave temple in the Kashmir Valley was further delayed. The government should be ready to face the "wrath of the people" if the pilgrimmage to the Hindu shrine was delayed beyond June 15, said SAYSS, which last year spearheaded the Amarnath land agitation in Jammu.