Pilgrim count at Vaishno Devi shrine highest in a decade

Jammu: The cave shrine of Vaishno Devi has been visited by more than 93.50 lakh pilgrims so far this year – the highest footfall in a decade.

According to the shrine officials, a total of 93.50 lakh people had visited the temple in Trikuta hills in Jammu's Reasi district by Monday, surpassing the 2013 figure of 93.24 lakh.

'The pilgrimage with a new record of over 93.24 lakh pilgrims is the highest in the last ten years,' Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Chief Executive Officer Anshul Garg said.

The highest number in the history of pilgrimage journey was in 2012, with 1,04,09,569 devotees, followed by 1,01,15,647 in 2011.

Between 37,000 and 44,000 devotees are embarking on the trek to the shrine every day, Garg said, adding, he expects this figure to reach 50,000 by the end of the year.

This year, it is projected that the number of devotees visiting for darshan of the deity will surpass 95 lakh, he said.

The shrine has in the recent past seen a few additions in terms of facilities, including a skywalk at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan a Durga Bhavan.

The skywalk and a remodelled Parvati Bhavan was inaugurated in October by President Droupadi Murmu. Moreover, the shrine base camp in Katra now boasts of a state-of-the-art call centre which operates round-the-clock and manages nearly 2,500 calls every day from pilgrims from across the world.

In October, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha launched a 'live darshan' facility for the devotees.