Vaishno Devi Yatra temporarily suspended due to flashfloods caused by heavy rains

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Jammu,
Aug
20:
The
yatra
to
the
Vaishno
Devi
shrine
atop
Trikuta
hills
in
Reasi
district
of
Jammu
and
Kashmir
was
temporarily
suspended
on
Friday
evening
following
heavy
rain.

Chief
Executive
Officer
of
Shri
Mata
Vaishno
Devi
Shrine
Board
Anshul
Garg
said
the
situation
was
under
control
and
there
was
no
report
of
any
casualty
or
damage.

#WATCH
|
J&K:
Heavy
rainfall
triggers
flash
floods
near
Vaishno
Devi
Shrine
in
Katra
town
in
Reasi
district

pic.twitter.com/NhgxNjbV9x

— ANI (@ANI)

August
19,
2022

Several
videos
shared
on
social
media
show
flood-like
situation
on
the
Vaishno
Devi
track.

An
official
said
heavy
rains
lashed
Katra,
the
base
camp
for
the
pilgrims
visiting
the
revered
shrine,
for
several
hours
in
the
evening,
prompting
the
authorities
to
suspend
the
yatra
as
a
precautionary
measure
till
5
am
on
Saturday.

4
dead,
20
injured
after
Jammu
bus
with
Vaishno
Devi
pilgrims
catches
fire
in
Katra

Thousands
of
pilgrims
were
present
at
the
shrine
when
it
started
raining
heavily
and
continued
till
midnight,
the
official
said,
adding,
the
Himkoti
(battery
car)
track
was
accordingly
suspended.
”As
a
precautionary
measure
in
the
interest
of
safety,
the
upward
movement
of
yatra
has
been
stopped
from
Katra.

”Priority
is
being
accorded
to
yatris,
currently
in
Bhawan
area,
coming
down
towards
Sanjhichatt
and
then
Katra
under
close
watch
of
Shrine
Board
staff,
police
and
CRPF
officials
and
the
overall
supervision
of
Additional
Chief
Executive
Officer
Navneet,
who
is
stationed
at
the
Bhawan,” the
official
said.

He
said
regular
announcements
are
being
made
via
the
public
address
system.

Disaster
Management
teams
and
medical
units
have
been
kept
on
alert
to
respond
to
any
exigency,
the
official
said.