Record 258,946 pilgrims pay obeisance at Vaishno Devi shrine during Navratras

Srinagar: As many as 258,946 devotees relocated to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine tucked away in Trikuta hills near Jammu and Kashmir’s winter capital Jammu during the Navrata festival this year.

Officials termed the rush of pilgrims during the festival season as “unprecedented” as nearly 2.60 lakh arrivals at Katra, the base-camp of the shrine of goddess Mahalakshmi popularly known as Mata Vaishno Devi, has broken all previous records. More than 10 million pilgrims visit the shrine every year.

They said that, as reports last came in, thousands of people were still waiting at Katra for their turn to visit the shrine to pay obeisance. Earlier during the day on Wednesday, over 13,000 devotees had visited the shrine as per the yatra registration counter of the Shri Mata Vasino Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB), Katra. The total number of pilgrims registered for the day at 5 am was 25,521, they said. “Pilgrim rush during this year’s Navratras witnessed a considerable increase with 258,946 arrivals as against last year’s number of 209,774”, the SMVDSB said.

The district administration Reasi in collaboration with J&K Tourism Department, SMVDSB and other local agencies had made elaborate arrangements for smooth conduct of the festival, an official statement issued in Jammu said.