Rudraprayag:

The pilgrimage to Kedarnath by road was put on hold on Saturday after part of the trek route caved in near Jungle Chatti leaving thousands of pilgrims returning from the Himalayan temple stranded.

The helicopter service remains functional, officials said.

Rudraprayag Superintendent of Police Akshay Prahlad Konde said 10-15 metre stretch of the trek route caved in suddenly, making movement along the route impossible. Thousands of pilgrims on their way back from the temple got stranded due to it.

However, an alternative route, though rather long winding, was readied quickly to evacuate the stranded pilgrims, he said.

So far, around 5,000 pilgrims have been evacuated and the rest are also being brought down with the help of the police, SDRF and NDRF personnel, he said.

The priority is to first evacuate the pilgrims who got stranded on their way back from Kedarnath, Konde said. Pilgrims bound for the temple were asked to stay in places like Phata, Guptkashi, Rudraprayag and Srinagar till restoration of the trek route which might take some time, the SP said.

Pilgrimage to the temple by air continues uninterrupted, he said.

Those who were to leave for the temple from Gaurikund and Sonprayag were asked not to proceed on their onward journey to stay safe, Mr Konde said.

No pilgrim has been allowed to go beyond Sonprayag and Gaurikund after damage to the trek route near Jungle Chatti, the SP said.

Keeping in mind safety of the pilgrims going on foot to Kedarnath, the police have requested them to stay wherever they are and not rush to reach Sonprayag or Gaurikund where there are limited staying facilities, Mr Konde said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)