Srinagar, July 18 -- As the Amarnath Yatra was suspended for a day today due to continuous rainfall for the past two days, around 2.51 lakh pilgrims have performed darshan till date. From the past two days the upper reaches especially in south and central Kashmir have been witnessing moderate to heavy rainfall which compelled authorities to suspend the yatra on both routes keeping in view the safety of pilgrims. Officials said that Amarnath Yatra has been suspended for Thursday from both Pahalgam and Baltal base camps. "Heavy continuous rains over the last two days have necessitated restoration work to be carried out on tracks along both the routes. Border Roads Organisation has made heavy deployment of its men and machinery on the tracks to complete the work before yatra can be released from the two base camps on Friday," said divisional commissioner, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, adding that it has been decided that no movement shall be allowed towards the holy cave from the two base camps today. He said yatris who stayed at Panjtarni camp during the preceding night are being allowed to proceed to Baltal under adequate deployment of BRO and Mountain Rescue Teams. "The yatra shall resume in all likelihood tomorrow, depending upon the weather conditions during the course of the day", he said. Officials said that on July 17, 5,110 pilgrims have performed the darshan at Amarnath Shrine till 2 pm. The officials said the cumulative number of yatris to have performed darshans at the holy vave reached 2.51 lakh in the first 15 days of yatra since its commencement on July 3. Amidst continuing inclement weather in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir, the army rescued around 500 pilgrims on Baltal axis, said officials. "The army has once again displayed its unwavering commitment to safeguarding the lives of yatris. On the evening of Wednesday, persistent rainfall triggered a landslide at Z Morh, between Rayalpathri and Brarimarg, resulting in the halting of yatra movement and stranding a large number of pilgrims", said defence spokesperson Lt Col Suneel Bartwal. In response, the Army detachment deployed at Brarimarg swung into action. "Around 500 yatris stranded in the area were accommodated in tents. Additionally, another 3000 pilgrims found refuge in langars located between Brarimarg and Z Morh, which offered essential shelter and sustenance", said Col Bartwal. He said a particularly critical case involved a sick yatri stranded between two landslide-prone zones at Rayalpathri. "The army's Quick Reaction Teams undertook a challenging manual stretcher evacuation under adverse weather conditions and safely transported the patient to Rayalpathri, from where an ambulance moved the individual for further medical care," he said....