Vaishno Devi shrine opens after five months
Jammu, August 16, 2020: The pilgrimage of Vaishno Devi has started from today. The Vaishno Devi Yatra was postponed to 18 March due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. After waiting for five months, devotees will again be able to see Vaishno Devi. Currently, only 2,000 devotees will be allowed to visit the temple daily.
Permission to open religious places: The Jammu and Kashmir state administration had on Tuesday issued strict guidelines with permission to open religious places in the state. After getting the approval of the state administration, Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board decided to start Vaishno Devi Yatra from August 16.
Yatra starts with strict rules: Shrine Board CEO Ramesh Kumar said that in the first phase only 2000 devotees will be able to have darshan daily. 1900 of these will be pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir, while 100 from other states. The COVID-19 test will be mandatory for pilgrims coming from other states. Pregnant women and children below 10 years or any person above 60 years will not be allowed to travel in the first phase. It will be mandatory for every devotee to wear a mask or face shield and also follow social distancing. Devotees going to Vaishno Devi shrine for darshan in the first phase will have to go only by the traditional route and after darshan will have to come back through the new Tarakot route.
Online registration of devotees: Devotees will have only online registration for Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra. Interested pilgrims will not be provided immediate travel slip from the Travel Registration Centre.
Aarogya Setu app mandatory: It is mandatory for all pilgrims to have Aarogya Setu App installed in their mobile phones.
