After 2 years hiatus, Vaishno Devi pilgrimage likely to reach 1 Cr mark

Jammu: After remaining affected due to Covid-19 restrictions in the last couple of years, the pilgrimage to the revered Vaishno Devi shrine atop the Trikuta hills in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district seems to be returning to pre-pandemic returning levels and is likely to touch the one crore mark.
Till date around 86 lakh pilgrims have visited the Cave shrine so far and by the month end it appears that the footfall may touch 1 crore mark by the year end, surpassing the yatra figures of 2013. The yatra saw 93.24 lakh pilgrims footfall in 2013. As compared to 85 lakh 86 thousand 541 devotees in the year 2018, so far in the year 85 lakh 63 thousand 138 devotees have paid obeisance at the cave shrine so far. The pilgrimage was most affected in 2020 due to restrictions imposed in the wake of Covid pandemic. The footfall even dipped to the levels of 1987. But with the threat Covid dissipating to a large extent, the pilgrimage has been returning to pre-Covid levels since the beginning of the year.
Thousands are descending every day from within union territory and other parts of the country. The increase in the Yatra has been possible due to the efficient and pilgrim oriented management of the Shiri Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. Throughout in the ongoing year, on an average around 25 to 30,000 devotees visited the Cave shrine on daily basis. At present, there is a decrease in footfall due to the winter and weddings season, but the footfall is likely to increase from the second half of December.
It is noteworthy that in the year 2012, the maximum number of one crore four lakh five thousand devotees had paid obeisance at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.
49 lakh 49 thousand 967 devotees had paid obeisance till November last year, while this year 36,13,171 more pilgrims have visited the cave shrine till November end. It is anticipated that around 15 lakh likely to visit the shrine by the year end.
In last January, a total of 438521 devotees paid obeisance, in February 361074 devotees, in March, 778669 devotees, in April 902192, in May, a total of 986766, in June 11292311.
Ever since the inception of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in 1986, the shrine has witnessed an ever-increasing number of devotees. The Board over the years have taken various initiatives for facilitation of pilgrims including Mobile App, Home Delivery of Pooja Prasad, round the clock Call Centre for facilitation of yatris, installation of Hi-tech Video Walls and construction of Durga Bhawan.
On its foundation in August, the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha rolled out new RFID system for the convenience of the passengers. The system will ensure seamless access control with minimal hassle to devotees. For better crowd management and tracking of the Yatries, 29 counters and control rooms have been set up in Katra and verification counters have been set up at 7 locations on the track.
The footfall in the yatra which was 13.96 lakh in 1986, increased to its highest of 1.04 core in 2012. It saw 93.24 lakh pilgrims in 2013, 78.03 lakh in 2014, 77.76 lakh in 2015, 77.23 lakh in 2016, 81.78 lakh in 2017 and 85.87 lakh pilgrims in 2018.
Updated On 12/5/2022 12:08:57 PM