Summer vacation rush peaks at Vaishno Devi

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 16

As many as 47,369 pilgrims paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine of Goddess Vaishno Devi, nestled in Trikuta Hills of Reasi district in Jammu and Kashmir, on Saturday. This was the highest number of pilgrims in a day this year.

According to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, the heavy rush of pilgrims was being witnessed at the holy cave shrine in view of the ongoing summer vacation in educational institutes across the country.

“The yatra figure on Saturday was this year’s highest as 47,369 pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine,” said Simrandeep Singh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), shrine board.

He added the minimum number of pilgrims in a day to visit the shrine in this year was 5,000. This occurred on the day of the Pulwama terror attack in Kashmir on February 14.

Simrandeep Singh attributed the heavy rush of pilgrims to the summer vacation. “Till June 15 this year, about 32.76 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the cave shrine and the figure is on the rise,” the CEO said.

A board official said, “The shrine always witnesses heavy rush on weekends, but the footfall of pilgrims has increased considerably since the beginning of the summer vacation as a high number of pilgrims are visiting the shrine daily these days.”

The official said all necessary arrangements had been put in place to ensure smooth and hassle-free conduct of pilgrimage.

Pertinently, the pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine broke five-year record last year when around 86 lakh pilgrims had paid obeisance at the shrine.

The shrine board has constructed Tarakote Marg — an alternative 7-km track between Banganga and Adhkuwari — to the holy cave shrine to make pilgrimage easier. Tarakote Marg between Katra and Adhkuwari was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 19 last year.

65% occupancy in Katra hotels

• Rakesh Wazir, president of Katra Hotel and Restaurants’ Association, said there was an average 65 per cent occupancy in all hotels and lodges in Katra — the base camp of the pilgrimage
• “We have around 450 hotels and lodges in Katra, with a capacity of accommodating around 30,000 pilgrims and an average 60 to 65 per cent occupancy is there nowadays. Our business has picked up pace since the start of the summer vacation in educational institutions. We are hopeful of good business till the end of this month,” Wazir said