Over 31,000 Pilgrims Visit Vaishno Devi as Chaitra Navratri Opens in Jammu and Kashmir

Overview

• Officials reported 31,690 devotees paid obeisance at the cave shrine on Thursday by 10 pm, and over 15,000 had registered for Friday as of morning.
• The festival opened with fresh floral decorations and multi-coloured lighting at the Bhawan and base camp, and Lt Governor Manoj Sinha offered prayers.
• Security includes CRPF, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Army personnel, supported by 24/7 CCTV through an Integrated Command and Control Centre and RFID-enabled crowd management.
• The Shrine Board set up registration counters at Katra railway station and readied services such as free battery cars and ponies for the disabled, continuous sanitation, drinking water and food.
• Other temples across Jammu saw steady but weather-affected turnout—about 1,000 at Bawe Wali Mata and roughly 2,000 at Chichi Mata—with langars operating and some vendors reporting slower sales.