Inclement weather conditions in Kashmir temporarily halted the 43-day Amarnath Yatra on Tuesday, officials said.
A J&K government official said the pilgrimage was temporarily suspended from both Pahalgam and Sonmarg routes on Tuesday morning due to bad weather conditions.
The annual pilgrimage is organised from the twin base camps - Nunwan base camp in Anantnag and Baltal camp in Ganderbal district which are located in South and Central Kashmir respectively.
“Around 3,000 pilgrims were stopped at the Nunwan base camp in Pahalgam, while another batch of around 4,000 pilgrims was stopped at Yatri Niwas in the Ramban district,” the official said.
Officials said the sixth batch of over 6,300 Amarnath pilgrims left for the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Amarnath on Tuesday with more than 72,000 pilgrims performing the pilgrimage to the cave shrine till Tuesday.
The cave houses an ice-Shivlingam, which is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Shiva. The Yatra is scheduled to end on August 12 on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
On Monday, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited the Amarnath Yatra base camp at Baltal to take a stock of facilities, "Adequate arrangements are in place to ensure safe and smooth Yatra. Directed the officials for regular inspection of lodging, food, health facilities, sanitation and taking care of cleanliness drive along the Yatra route and base camp,” he tweeted.