Amarnath Yatra, the annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, has been cancelled for the second year in a row in view of the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision to cancel the annual pilgrimage was taken at a meeting of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha here.
Sinha, after detailed deliberations, decided that the annual pilgrimage would be symbolic only. However, all the traditional religious rituals will be performed at the holy cave shrine as per past practice.
The 56-day yatra to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Lord Shiva, located in the upper reaches of Himalayas, scheduled to start from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal on June 28 and culminate on August 22.
Recently, the registration for the yatra, which began from April 1, was temporarily suspended from 22 April due to the evolving COVID-19 situation.
The annual pilgrimage was cancelled last year too in the wake of the raging coronavirus pandemic in the country
