Fire at Vaishno Devi shrine

Jammu, June 8

A fire broke out at Vaishno Devi shrine complex in Jammu Kashmir's Reasi district on Tuesday, damaging a cash counter, but as the 'yatra' to the famous temple in Trikuta hills remained unaffected, officials said.

No one was injured in the fire, which broke out at the structure adjoining the 'Bhawan' (sanctum sanctorum), they said.

"At around 4 pm, a fire incident took place at Bhawan. The fire hydrants were pressed into service and the fire was brought under control by 4.25 pm," an official of the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board said.

He said there has been no hindrance to the yatra (pilgrimage) which is progressing smoothly.

Union minister Jitendra Singh, who is also the Lok Sabha MP from Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir, said he spoke to the Reasi Deputy Commissioner over the incident.

"Spoke to DC #Reasi, S. Charandeep Singh just now and inquired about the fire that broke out near the #VaishnoDevi shrine some time back. Thankfully, everything brought under control. No major loss reported. However, keeping a close track for the next few hours," he tweeted.

Earlier, the officials said a short circuit triggered the fire which was completely brought under control by 5 pm.

Visuals from the scene showed thick smoke billowing out of the building as firefighters worked to douse the flames.

The fire fighting squad of the shrine immediately swung into action after CRPF personnel raised an alarm, the officials said.

Some cash and records were gutted in the fire, they added. — PTI