Jammu, July 24:  The annual yatra to cave-shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir has been suspended from Baltal route due to continuous rain since Monday night. Due to a heavy downpour, the route of Amarnath Yatra has become slippery and muddy. As there is a possibility of shooting stones and landslides on the route, the yatra has been suspended for some time on the Baltal route but is going on from Pahalgam Axis. According to a tweet by ANI, helicopter services have also suspended from Baltal Axis.

The 60-day annual yatra started on the two routes of Pahalgam and Baltal on June 28 and is scheduled to conclude on August 26. Pilgrims who take the 14km long Baltal trek return to the base camp the same day after performing the yatra while those using the 36-km long traditional Pahalgam trek take three days to reach the cave shrine.

On Monday,  a fresh batch of over 1,200 pilgrims, including 300 women and 100 sadhus, left the base camp for the annual yatra in south Kashmir. Reports inform that minor landslide, triggered by overnight rains, struck the Jammu-Srinagar national highway near Jaswal bridge in Ramban district early in the day, but was immediately cleared by the concerned agencies.

According to a PTI report, among the latest batch,  773 pilgrims had opted for the Pahalgam track in Anantnag district, while 435 including were going from the shorter 12-km Baltal side in Ganderbal district.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2018 09:31 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).