Mysore, July 20, 2013: Amarnath pilgrims, numbering about 400 from Mysore are among the 30,000 pilgrims stranded at Galtal, 125 kms from Srinagar, according to one of the pilgrims from Mysore who spoke to Star of Mysore this morning.

According to Lokesh from Vijayanagar, Mysore, who spoke to SOM, the local Police authorities are not allowing the pilgrims to leave Galtal saying that a bridge across the road has collapsed and hence they have to wait.

However, the authorities told the pilgrims this morning that they would be allowed to move out of Galtal this evening. Fortunately, transport is not a problem as there are over 2,000 vehicles waiting to leave Galtal.

According to Lokesh, all the pilgrims were safe and are provided with good food free of cost at the public mess known as Langar. They are also provided with space for sleeping in the night. Since there is no rain, the weather is good with occasional sunshine. In his group there are eight persons from Mysore city among whom one is a journalist Lakshminarayan alias Pandu, Lokesh said.

They have been waiting for their movement order since four days, he said. This group of Amarnath pilgrims had left Mysore on July 12 and reached Amarnath on July 16 after which they came to Galtal, on their way back, where they were stopped.

The pilgrimage to Amarnath, the holy place of Hindus, usually takes place in the month of Ashada which is the present period. The unique feature of this temple is that it is dedicated to Lord Shiva, one of the divinities of Hindu trinity known here as Amarnatheshwara.

According to Lokesh, the Lingam, which symbolises the deity, is formed of ice during this period that could rise as tall as 8 ft in the sanctum sanctorum which is in a cave in the Himalayas. But, when he went there, the height of the Lingam was about half-a-foot, he said. The cave is about 300 kms from Jammu and a distance of about 23 kms had to be traversed either on horseback or by foot.

Lokesh expressed surprise that though Karnataka pilgrims were held up here since the past four days, the pilgrims did not get any information about the State Government showing any concern for its people.