Jammu, Aug. 2 -- Heavy rains and an early-morning cloudburst triggered flash floods and mudslides in the Chatroo area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district on Saturday, causing damage to property and disrupting regional transport routes. The cloudburst caused a small stream near the local student market in Chatroo to overflow, sending mud and debris spilling into commercial and residential areas. According to Kishtwar deputy commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma, two houses and two shops sustained partial damage. No casualty was reported. He said that restoration works have been initiated to restore essential supplies. Emergency response teams deployed heavy machinery to clear the debris. While internal clearing operations continue, local authorities managed to reopen the affected Kishtwar road stretch for light motor vehicles (LMVs). As a precautionary measure, administration officials ordered the closure of schools in Doda and Kishtwar districts. The heightened alert comes against the backdrop of last year's tragedy in Kishtwar's Chasoti village, where a cloudburst along the Machail Mata Yatra route claimed over 60 lives, damaged dozens of homes, and left over 33 missing. Following that disaster, the ministry of earth sciences stepped up mitigation efforts in the region, installing two advanced early warning systems in Kishtwar and Machhail, alongside an automatic weather station in Padder to bolster local monitoring.Union minister Jitendra Singh said those affected would receive compensation. Further south, traffic along the 250-km Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH-44) remained closed for the second consecutive day. Ongoing repair work and fresh rainfall along the Ladha-Samroli stretch in Udhampur district left the road slushy and slippery. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) personnel and traffic police are engaged in restoration work. Due to the unsafe highway conditions, authorities suspended the Amarnath Yatra from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu on Saturday. No fresh batches of pilgrims were permitted to leave for the Kashmir Valley. In response to a lower daily influx of pilgrims as the yatra nears its final weeks, the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (SASB) consolidated its administrative services. Offline registration, token distribution, e-KYC verification, and RFID issuance counters-previously situated at the Tawi Riverfront-have now been shifted directly to the Bhagwati Nagar base camp. In view of the closure of NH 44, Northern Railway ran a special train service between Budgam and Katra on Saturday to facilitate the movement of stranded passengers. The decision was taken following a surge in passenger rush at Srinagar and Katra railway stations due to the highway closure. According to an official statement issued here, the special train departed from Budgam at 1 pm and reached Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra railway station at 4.20 pm, with scheduled halts at Srinagar, Banihal and Sangaldan. The special train service will continue to operate to ease passenger movement until normal highway traffic is restored. Since the annual pilgrimage began on July 3, about 4.5 lakh devotees have paid obeisance at the cave shrine. The 52-day pilgrimage will conclude on August 28, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan. Meanwhile, the Met department has forecast a few spells of light to moderate rain with thundershowers at many places, with the possibility of heavy rain and brief, intense heavy showers besides torrential rain over a few districts of the Jammu region. "There is a possibility of heavy rain and brief intense heavy showers in a few districts of Jammu province during August 2 and 3 and it may trigger flash floods and landslides at vulnerable places during the next five days," said a Met official. Srinagar: The Amarnath Yatra resumed on Saturday from the Baltal route after being suspended for a day due to inclement weather and necessary track repairs, officials said. "The yatra has resumed from the Baltal route, and pilgrims were allowed to visit the Holy Cave shrine this morning," the officials stated. They noted that the yatra resumed following improvement in the weather and the completion of repairs along the track....