Amarnath Yatri was inside a vehicle when hit by a shooting stone on highway

india

Updated: Jul 09, 2019 15:15 IST

A pilgrim on the way to Amarnath shrine was injured Tuesday after he was hit by a shooting stone on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Ramban district.

47-year-old Mahadev Malekar, a resident of Noapara in 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, was traveling in a cavalcade of vehicles carrying pilgrims to twin base camps of Pahalgam and Baltal, when hit by a shooting stone at Digdol, 130 kms from Srinagar, said a police official.

“He was hit on his face. After first aid and other requisite treatment at the Ramban district hospital, he was referred to Government Medical College and Hospital in Jammu,” he added.

The Jammu-Srinagar national highway, also called NH44, was blocked at three points --Digdol, Gangru and Mom Passi-- due to landslides and shooting stones triggered by rains since 9.30 am on Tuesday.

Several pilgrims taking the Baltal route were stranded between Magerkot and Panthial while those on Pahalgam route were stranded between Nashri and Ramban between 9.30 am to 12 noon.

Traffic had finally begun to move towards Srinagar after the debris were cleared by noon.

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police have been protecting pilgrims from shooting stones in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baltal by forming shield against stones while pilgrims cross mountainous paths.

Over one lakh pilgrims have performed the Amarnath Yatra during the last eight days and another 5,964 yatris left Jammu for the Kashmir Valley on Tuesday, said officials. To date, 1,11,699 pilgrims have performed the ongoing Yatra, officials said.

This year’s 45-day long Hindu pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine started on June 30 and will end on August 15, coinciding with the Shravan Purnima festival.