20 Yatris injured in Qazigund road mishap, all stable

Yatra suspended due to inclement weather

Anantnag: At least twenty pilgrims undertaking the Amarnath Yatra were injured in a road mishap along NH-44 here in Qazigund area of south Kashmir on Thursday. Three of them were injured seriously and shifted to hospital in Anantnag for specialised treatment.
The Yatra was also suspended on Thursday due to inclement weather, on both the Baltal and Pahalgam routes, with officials saying that it will resume soon after the weather improves.
Rains have been lashing Kashmir valley since early Thursday morning and continued throughout the day.
The identities of the injured were not known immediately. “Three among the injured have been shifted to the Government Medical College in Anantnag, while the rest have been given the necessary treatment in Qazigund,” a police official said.
The mishap took place at about noon, in Badragund area, at a crossing on the NH-44. “A tipper dumper was standing at the crossing when a bus, carrying the Yatris, rammed into it,” a police official from the area said.
He said that the bus driver had apparently lost control of the vehicle and the brakes did not work due to slippery road conditions in wake of the rain. “The tipper rammed into the road divider. Fortunately, the damage done was minimal. There were some security personnel standing near the accident site and they, too, escaped unhurt,” the official said.
The injured Yatris were immediately rushed to a nearby health facility and later three of them were shifted to the GMC in Anantnag. “They were treated here and are completely out of danger,” a doctor at GMC Anantnag told Kashmir Reader.
He said that the injured will be discharged soon. “They needed some investigative procedures. Their injuries were not that bad,” the doctor said.
LG Manoj Sinha tweeted and said that he has instructed the district administration and Principal GMC to take good care of the injured.
The Amarnath Yatra has been going on amid unprecedented security measures, since June 30, after remaining suspended for two years due to Covid – and being halted midway ahead of the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
This is the second mishap that has hit this year’s pilgrimage. On July 8, a cloudburst had hit Baltal base camp leaving 16 Yatris dead. 40 Yatris who went missing in the mudslides and flashfloods are yet to be found and are presumed dead by the authorities.
The Yatra remained suspended for a few days as the debris was being cleared and has now resumed in full.

 

 

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