Amarnath yatra suspended

Amarnath yatra was on Sunday suspended due to rains and snow at the cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas, leaving thousands of pilgrims stranded.

Heavy rains on both the traditional Pahalgam and shorter Baltal route and snowfall at the cave shrine prompted authorities to temporarily suspend the yatra, officials said. They said as many as 11,500 pilgrims are stranded on various points on the 46 km Pahalgam route and 14 km Baltal routes.

The pilgrims have been asked not to proceed to the cave in view of threat of landslides posed by heavy rains, the officials said adding they have been asked to take shelter in the specially erected shelter-sheds on both the routes.

Meanwhile, a pilgrim died of heart attack en route the cave shrine. 32-year-old Sunita hailing from Jalandhar died at
Baltal. More than 75,000 pilgrims have so far paid obeisance at the cave shrine.