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Snowfall halts Amarnath pilgrims
for second day

      Baltal (Jammu and Kashmir): Heavy snowfall and incessant rains stalled the commencement of the pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath nestled deep in the Himalayas for the second day on Monday, as the two routes through which the shrine is accessible -- Baltal and Pahalgam -- remained blocked. Thousands of devotees were stranded at both the Baltal and Pahalgam base camps and were awaiting clearance from the authorities to proceed to the shrine. No pilgrim is presently being allowed to move from Jammu to the base camps at Baltal and Pahalgam in view of the bad weather. Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, S M Sahai, has reportedly sent messaged the Police Control Room (PCR) in Jammu, saying no pilgrim should be allowed to move towards the shrine. The two-month-long Amarnath pilgrimage started as per schedule from the Baltal route on Sunday morning amid extraordinary security arrangements as devotees in large number proceeded on the holy journey.

     The authorities had earlier announced that the pilgrimage has been suspended from the traditional Pahalgam route after heavy snowfall was recorded at Panchtarni and Sheshnag, the two halting points, since Saturday night. Hours after, the pilgrimage was suspended from Baltal route as well following heavy snowfall and incessant rains at Sangam Top. The official said all the devotees were safe and asserted that they were regularly monitoring the weather situation along both routes and would accordingly take a decision on resuming the pilgrimage, which comes to an end on August 9. The Amarnath Cave is one of the twelve holiest shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, collectively known as 'Jyotirlingas'. More than 5,00,000 pilgrims are expected to visit the holy cave shrine this year. Last year, the pilgrimage remained incident-free and more than four lakh devotees had a glimpse of the 'ice Shivalingam' (phallic symbol of Lord Shiva). The lingam is formed naturally with an ice stalagmite, which waxes and wanes with the moon.
-June 12,  2006

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