JAMMU, July 23: An Amarnath pilgrim was killed and 18 others injured, two OF them seriously, in an explosion in a hotel at Banihal, about 208 kilometres on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway today, official sources said.

The sources said the explosion was triggered by militants in Kailash hotel at Banihal. Two of the injured, identified as Satpal and Dharmpal, who were taken to Jammu medical college hospital were in a serious condition, sources said and added that Dharmpal succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. Most of the injured pilgrims, had been staying in the hotel on their way back from the holy cave shrine of Amarnath.

Meanwhile, scores of pilgrims, who left Jammu for Pahalgam during the last eight days, have been stranded at various places in Jammu and Kashmir due to bad weather conditions over the past two days.

Official sources here said that no pilgrim had been allowed to proceed to the Amarnath shrine from Pahalgam in South Kashmir since Tuesday in view of continuous and heavy rains. The shortest route to the shrine from Baltal in Sonamarg area of North Kashmir was also closed for the last two days, they added. The police control room here said the 300-kilometre Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was also blocked due to landslides at Samrouli near Udhampur since last night. As a result, the eighth batch of 1,571 Amarnath pilgrims, which left here for the valley this morning, was stranded on the highway near Udhampur, about 65 kilometres from here.

The pilgrims stranded near Udhampur also include members of the four voluntary organisations permitted by the State Government to set up langars enroute to the Amarnath shrine, an official spokesman here said. It was still raining heavily today at Pahalgam.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.