VAISHNO DEVI temple opened to pilgrims

Pilgrimage to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine temple located in Katra at an altitude of 1,584 .96 metre in the Jammu region of  Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory resumed on Sunday. August 16  after about five months in view of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Vaishno Devi, also known as Mata Rani, Trikuta, Ambe and Vaishnavi, is considered by Hindu believers as the embodiment of The Mother Goddess.  Goddess Vaishnavi was formed from the combined energies of Goddess Parvati/Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, and Mahasaraswati. She is also considered as warrior form of Mahalakshmi. As per the SOPs, every pilgrim will have to wear a face mask and face cover and install the Aarogya Setu App on his/her mobile phone. Pilgrims will also have to undergo thermal scanning at Yatra entry points. At the base camp in Katra, the devotees are coming in small numbers, but are excited with the start of the Yatra. Devotees can get online Yatra Prachi on the website: maavaishnodevi.org.   Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has said that during the first week of the resumption of pilgrimage there shall be a ceiling of 2,000 pilgrims per day, including 1900 from within Jammu and Kashmir and the remaining 100 from outside the UT. The children below the age of 10 years, pregnant women, persons with co-morbidities and persons above the age of 60 years have been advised to avoid the yatra in the interest of their own safety from infection of COVID-19. The COVID-19 negative test report of the pilgrims from outside J&K and also from Red Zone districts of J&K will be checked at the helipad and the Yatra Entry points. Only those with negative reports will be allowed to move beyond the Bhawan. Image courtesy: RailYatri blog