The Hindu : Other States / Jammu & Kashmir News : Heavy snow halts trek to Vaishno Devi temple

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Sunday, Feb 20, 2005

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Heavy snow halts trek to Vaishno Devi temple

By Our Staff Reporter

A Kashmiri boy trudges through a snow-covered street in Srinagar on Saturday. — AP

JAMMU, FEB. 19. The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway 1A remained blocked today for the second consecutive day after fresh snowfall and rain lashed the region.

The snowfall also forced a suspension of the pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi shrine situated in the Trikuta hills of Udhampur district.

Along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway snow had piled up four to six feet high at several places. P.L. Gupta, Inspector-General of Police (Traffic), said: "There was no respite from the cold wave and weather conditions did not permit the re-opening of the highway. No one is stranded beyond Ramsoo and passengers who are stranded near Batote have been put up in safe shelters."

He ruled out the opening of normal traffic tomorrow. Only vehicles carrying essential supplies might be allowed if conditions permitted.

The pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi shrine had to be suspended as heavy snowfall covered the 13 km trek.

The additional chief executive officer of the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Rohit Kansal, said: "We have suspended the pilgrimage due to heavy snowfall which has made the trek to the shrine impossible."

The pilgrims had been brought back to Katra, the base camp to the shrine and housed in a 700-bed hostel belonging to the board.

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Heavy snow halts trek to Vaishno Devi temple