The ___ yatra was recently halted briefly, following the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway at Ramban. Fill in the blanks
Kedarnath
Amarnath
Badrinath
Anantnag
Answer: Amarnath
The Amarnath yatra was halted in 2022 for some time following the closure of the Jammu–Srinagar national highway at Ramban.
Heavy rains in high-altitude areas near the holy cave of Amarnath resulted in a flood-like situation in the surrounding areas. The incident took place around 3 pm on July 26, 2022.
An immediate alert was issued quickly when the incident took place and more than 4000 pilgrims were evacuated to higher areas in Panchtarni. However, the situation did not deteriorate as the weather cleared soon after, after which the Amarnath yatra resumed.
More than 2 lakhs people managed to complete the Amarnath yatra in 2022 in the first 24 days. The yatra began on June 30 and according to the officials from the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), 2,44,751 people completed it in the first 24 days.
On July 23, 7271 pilgrims left to perform the Amarnath yatra while 7,009 more left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu in two convoys, both of which were escorted.
Among the 7009 people, 1504 reached the Baltal base camp while 5505 made their way to the Pahalgam base camp. Pilgrims who had opted for the first route had to complete a trek of 14 kilometres to reach the holy cave and returned to the base camp on the same day.
However, the rest, who used the traditional route through Pahalgam, made a trek of 48 kilometres in four days to reach the Amarnath cave shrine, which is situated at an altitude of 3888 metres above sea level.
Both routes had the availability of Helicopter services, which were opted for by many pilgrims. The Amarnath cave shrine has an ice stalagmite structure, which changes with the Moon.
According to popular belief, the structure is evidence of the powers of Lord Shiva.
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