Srinagar, August 6
The pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath was suspended today after incessant rains triggered two massive landslides on the yatra route and left 1,000 devotees stranded at various halting points.However, chopper service to the 3,880 m-high cave housing the naturally formed ice-lingam, continued unaffected, official sources said.
Rains triggered two massive landslides and also washed away a wooden bridge at Railpathri on the Naltal route to the cave, forcing the authorities to suspend the yatra this morning, the sources said.
They said no fresh batch of pilgrims were allowed from the Baltal base camp towards the cave owing to the unsafe track.
Similarly, the pilgrims were not allowed from the Nunwan base camp along traditional Pahalgam route as rains left the track slippery, the sources said.
The sources said authorities were monitoring the weather situation on an hourly basis. Heavy rains coupled with snow at several places near the holy cave area last night forced the authorities to
direct pilgrims not to move from the halting stations en route to the cave.
— PTI
