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A massive rush of devotees is being witnessed at Katra, the base camp of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, as over 30,000 pilgrims have departed for their onwards journey to the holy cave on Sunday.
The surge in footfall comes in the wake of the ongoing Chaitra Navratri festival, hence drawing thousands of devotees from across the country to seek the blessings of Mata Vaishno Devi Ji. Sanjeev Kumar, a devotee from Haryana, praised the elaborate decorations at the shrine and expressed that praying to the deity, a manifestation of Goddess Mahakali, provides him with immense peace. "I have come to watch the decoration of Mata Vaishno Devi. We come every year, by praying to Mata Vaishnodevi, we get peace," Kumar told ANI. Despite the heavy inflow, the yatra is progressing in an orderly manner. The authorities are maintaining strict control over the crowd and are ensuring that all essential facilities are available for the pilgrims. A devotee from Delhi praised the overall arrangements of the area, noting that the signboards and informative displays across the area have relatively improved. "The arrangements are good, the signage here is outstanding," a devotee told ANI. Earlier, registration for the yatra resumed at 4 AM today following a temporary suspension yesterday evening. The registration process was halted nearly four hours ahead of its scheduled 10 PM closure due to the overwhelming influx of devotees at Katra. Despite this brief suspension, the pilgrimage itself continued smoothly throughout the night. Officials reported that nearly one lakh devotees have paid obeisance at the sacred cave shrine since the commencement of Navratri, reflecting a period of intense spiritual fervour. To manage the high volume, authorities have implemented robust crowd control measures and necessary arrangements to ensure a safe and orderly experience for all pilgrims. (ANI)
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