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Jammu: 25,000 pay obeisance at Vaishno Devi shrine on Day 1 of nine-day long Navratris
The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine board has made elaborate arrangements of 24x7 water, power supply, sanitation and cleanliness, and medical care for devotees
Amid tight security arrangements and Covid guidelines, the nine-day long Navratri festival began at the holy cave shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi on Thursday.
“Shat Chandi Mahayagya organised by the shrine board also commenced today on the first Navratra amid chanting of Vedic mantras,” shrine board’s spokesperson said.
On the first day of the nine-day long festival, nearly 25,000 pilgrims visited the cave shrine.
KK Sharma, member, shrine board; Ramesh Kumar, CEO of the board; Naresh Kumar, SDM Bhawan; other senior officers of the board and a large number of pilgrims were among the devotees who paid obeisance.
Like in the past, the shrine board has made elaborate arrangements to facilitate a much larger number of pilgrims who are likely to visit the holy cave during Navratris.
These arrangements include round-the-clock water and power supply, sanitation and cleanliness, medical care and availability of special “fast-related” food at the catering outlets of the shrine board.
The shrine board CEO interacted with the pilgrims and enquired about the arrangements made by the board to facilitate them.
He expressed satisfaction at the arrangements put in place for the pilgrims at Bhawan and Katra.
He also informed that the play ‘Mata ki Kahani’ would be presented by Natrang Theatre Group in the auditorium of Spiritual Growth Centre at Katra with a limited audience.
The show will also be telecast at different locations through LED screens to avoid large gatherings at a single place.
He underscored that all the activities have been planned to keep in view the pandemic. Many events have been redesigned to minimise public gatherings.
