With the ceasefire between India and Pakistan holding along the international border and the Line of Control, the number of pilgrims reaching Katra town for their onward journey toward the Vaishno Devi shrine has begun picking up.
Official sources said that nearly 4,000 people had reported for registration at the shrine board counter in the town in 24 hours ending 10 pm Tuesday. By 4 pm Wednesday, the number of pilgrims turning up for registration had gone up to 4,000 pilgrims and the figure was going to touch 8,000 by 10 pm, they added.
A shrine board official said that until April 22, when terrorists killed 26 people – mostly tourists but also a local pony operator — in Pahalgam, between 30,000 and 35,000 pilgrims had been visiting the shrine in Trikuta Hills. But numbers began dipping after the attack, standing as low as 2,000-odd pilgrims a day amid border tensions in the aftermath of India’s strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan on May 7, the official said.
“With peace now holding between the two countries and the results of the () Classes 10 and 12 announced, the number of pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi shrine is expected to further go up by the end of the week,” he said.
On Wednesday, a day after flights resumed at 32 airports, including and Srinagar, the helicopter service to the Sanji Chat near the holy shrine from Katra town too was restored.
On Tuesday, there was only one -Jammu-Srinagar flight, with a senior official at the Jammu airport saying that the number of flights will increase with more passenger bookings. The Jammu and Kashmir administration has reopened educational institutions not located along the international border or the Line of Control.
