By IANS
Srinagar : The annual pilgrimage to Amarnath, the Himalayan cave shrine of Lord Shiva in Kashmir, was suspended Saturday following heavy rains lashing the two routes to the cave.
"The pilgrimage, which was officially scheduled to begin Saturday, has been suspended after incessant rains in Kashmir. We will review the situation after the weather improves," said Madan Mantoo, director public relations of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).
Heavy rains in the valley have left both the routes to the cave – via north Kashmir's Baltal and south Kashmir's Pahalgam – slippery.
While it has been raining heavily in the last four days all along the 46 km route from Pahalgam to the Amarnath cave, a bridge on the Srinagar-Baltal road and a portion of the track used by pilgrims was washed away by flash floods two days ago.
"Efforts are on to restore the track and the bridge immediately. However, continuous rain is hampering the work," said a senior police officer here.
The cave shrine – situated 3,880 metres above sea level – houses an icon of Lord Shiva formed by ice. Hundreds of thousands Hindu devotees visit the cave every year to worship the icon.
According to officials, over 4,000 pilgrims were stranded at Baltal while more than 2,000 were at the Nunwan base camp near Pahalgam.
"We have made arrangements for the pilgrims at both the base camps and are waiting for the weather to improve," a senior official said.
Union Home Minister Shivraj Patel is scheduled to travel to Jammu Saturday for an on the spot review of the pilgrimage arrangements.