Efforts are underway to resume the Amarnath Yatra soon

By Our Special Correspondent

A top Jammu and Kashmir official said on Sunday that efforts are on to resume the Amarnath Yatra, appealing to the pilgrims and assuring them of all facilities.

At least 16 people were killed in floods triggered by heavy rains near the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir on Friday evening.

Jammu and Kashmir Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha visited the Nunwan base camp for the cave shrine in Pahalgam and praised the security forces and the administration for an effective rescue operation and said the damaged path to the shrine was being repaired. By Tuesday the trip can be positively resumed.

Officials said the pilgrimage from Jammu was halted due to inclement weather conditions and the new batch was not allowed to proceed to the base camps of the 3880-metre high cave shrine. At least 15,000 pilgrims have been evacuated to the lower base camp, while more than 40 people have gone missing, they said.

The Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police continued rescue operations for missing persons in the affected area at the lower Amarnath cave site.