After the recent terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, the atmosphere is calm now, but the number of pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi has reduced considerably. According to the Shrine Board, earlier 50 to 55 thousand devotees used to pay obeisance at the court of Mata every day. Now for the past few days, the number of pilgrims has reduced to 25 to 30 thousand. Every day about 25 thousand devotees are reaching the court of Maa.
Now Amarnath Yatra is going to start from 29th June. The first batch of pilgrims will reach Kashmir today. In such a situation, the government has made strict security arrangements for the Yatra. Police and paramilitary forces are deployed at every step on the Jammu-Kashmir National Highway in Pathankot. This time CCTV cameras have also been installed on the entire route, so that every activity can be kept under close watch. After the terrorist attacks, the government has increased security on the routes leading to Mata Vaishno Devi. Despite this, people are afraid. However, the government and the Shrine Board are repeatedly appealing that the devotees coming to the court of Maa should come without any fear. Before moving towards Vaishno Devi, the pilgrims reach Katra, from where the 14 km long climb to the temple of Mata starts. By the first week of June, the number of pilgrims in Katra and Darbar increased so much that the Shrine Board had to close the Yatra Parchi counter for 2 days. Now the situation is that the number of devotees coming to the court of Maa has reduced to half.
Talking about the main market of Katra, along with the decrease in the number of devotees, there is disappointment on the faces of the shopkeepers as well. Shopkeepers said that after the terrorist attack, the number of devotees visiting the darbar has reduced considerably. People coming for shopping are also not coming. Due to holidays in the month of June, lakhs of devotees used to come every year, But This time people are scared of terrorist attacks in the beginning of June itself. Every year devotees from Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and other states come to Amarnath to have darshan of Baba Barfani. The government is also appealing to the devotees coming for Amarnath Yatra and Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra that the security forces in the valley are fully prepared for your safety. Apart from this, pilgrims are also being advised to be cautious.