The Vaishno Devi yatra in Jammu and Kashmir has been temporarily stopped on Friday evening due to heavy rains. As per officials, the situation is under control and there are no reports of any damage or casualty. A number of videos have been shared on social media showing flood-like situations on the shrine track.

Reports said that rains lashed out at the Katra district of the Union Territory for several hours last evening, which is the base camp for pilgrims visiting the shrine. There were thousands of pilgrims present at the shrine when it started raining heavily, which continued till midnight. The battery car track as also the upward movement of pilgrims from Katra was also suspended.

Speaking to PTI, Anshul Garg, Chief Executive Officer of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, said that the situation prompted the authorities to suspend the yatra till 5 am Saturday morning.

Also read: Cloudburst hits Dehradun; flash-floods near Vaishno Devi – Top Updates

According to shrine officials, priority has been given to pilgrims who were in the Bhawan area and were coming down to Sanjhichatt and then Katra under the watchful eye of Shrine Board staff, police, and CRPF officials as also the overall supervision of Additional Chief Executive Officer Navneet, stationed at the Bhawan.

Regular announcements are being made through the public address system. Apart from this, disaster management teams and medical units have been put on high alert to respond quickly in case of need. A total of 27,914 pilgrims had registered for Yatra on Saturday.

Also read: Water reserves rise 25% above benchmark average

The shrine was suspended earlier too in May 2022, from Tarakote and Himkoti Marg routes due to a forest fire. Following this, the authorities decided to suspend the yatra as a precautionary measure. However the yatra continued on raditional Ban Ganga-Adh Kunwari-Sanji Chat route as usual. The battery car service remained suspended during the day in the Adhkuwari-Shrine area via Himkoti Marg. The yatra was resumed soon after all precautionary steps were taken.