Amarnath Pilgrim Dies After Being Hit By Shooting Stone, Yatra Suspended

The Amarnath Yatra was suspended on Thursday due to heavy rain in the valley, and after a woman was killed by a shooting stone along the Baltal route of the yatra in Ganderbal district. Three others were also injured in a landslide along the route on Wednesday.

This is the first time the yatra, which began on July 3, has been suspended from Jammu this year.

A dramatic video of a mudslide along the Baltal route has also emerged, showing a large number of people stranded on the track.

In the video, two devotees were seen being swept away by a muddy torrent. They were rescued by people on the track. Many people were also seen holding onto railings installed on the pathway to save themselves from the mudslide.

The teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and their state counterparts, SDRF, were then immediately deployed to the accident site to evacuate people. 

According to reports, the Border Roads Organisation has started restoration work on the Yatra track.

Officials said the yatra will remain suspended till the time restoration work is completed.

The yatra is undertaken via the twin tracks - the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district that is shorter but steeper.

Over two lakh pilgrims have so far paid obeisance at the 3,880-metre-high shrine this year. 

Thousands of troops, paramilitary personnel and police have been deployed for the yatra, which is scheduled to conclude on August 9.

The security arrangements come in the wake of a terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, in which 26 civilians were killed by Pakistan-linked terrorists.