The Vaishno Devi pilgrimage has temporarily been suspended due to overcrowding. An official of the shrine said, “The pilgrimage to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine has been suspended from the Katra base camp in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district due to an unprecedented rush of pilgrims.”
It was reported that the ticket counter had to be closed last evening at 8 pm, nearly two hours before its scheduled closing time. The official added, “More than 41,000 pilgrims were climbing towards the shrine with many already queued up for darshan. Apart from this, a further 15,000 to 20,000 pilgrims showed up at the Katra base camp. They are currently stranded.”
