Over 60000 devotees pay obeisance at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine

Katra, Sep 26 (UNI) Due to the heavy influx of pilgrims during the ongoing Navratras, chaotic conditions prevailed here at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, forcing authorities to halt the yatra last night.

''Yatra has resumed after a night-long halt following heavy rush created at the bhawan, where over 60,000 devotees came for a 'darshan' until yesterday ,'' official sources said, adding the yatra had to be stopped in the wake of security concerns and lack of the vacant space at the bhawan.

''Although there was a slow down in the rush yesterday morning, the pilgrims kept pouring in from all parts of the country raising the number even further at the base camp of holy cave shrine in the Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir,'' the sources said.

''Over 35,000 pilgrims have arrived here in town since yesterday and the numbers are still increasing by thousands as the day progesses, sources added.

''Vigil was maintained on all the entry and exit points of the town and security tiers of the Army, CRPF, police and village defence committee have been deployed. Frisking and search of the vehicles have also been intensified,'' they said.

Over three lakh pilgrims are expected to visit the cave shrine via Katra during Navratras. Last year the number amounted to 2.67 lakh.

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