Helicopter service at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine resumes after seven days

An official said over 30 lakh pilgrims have paid their obeisance at the shrine since January this year as against 94.84 lakh last year.

Katra/Jammu: The helicopter service to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district resumed on Wednesday after being suspended for a week due to the military standoff between India and Pakistan, officials said.

This came a day after flight operations recommenced at 32 airports, including Jammu and Srinagar, following the suspension of hostilities between the two neighbouring nations.

"The helicopter service at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine resumed this morning after remaining suspended for the past seven days," an official of the shrine board said, adding pilgrim footfall has also started picking up after witnessing a sharp decline since the beginning of this month.

The battery car service for the pilgrims is also functional, the official said.

Over 30 lakh pilgrims have paid their obeisance at the shrine since January this year as against 94.84 lakh last year, he said and expressed hope that the rush will increase manifold.

"We are happy about the resumption of the helicopter service and the arrangements made by the shrine board," said Shubam Kumar, a pilgrim from Delhi.