Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 1: Nearly 4 million pilgrims have performed darshan to holy cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi ji in Trikuta Hills during first half of this year with nearly 25,000 pilgrims reaching daily at Katra, the base camp of the shrine. In the month of June, which witnessed maximum rush of pilgrims during the year due to vacations in the schools, 11.25 lakh yatris visited the holy cave shrine.
Official sources told the Excelsior that 38.07 lakh pilgrims have paid darshan to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine till June 30 this year as against 39.98 lakh yatris, who had performed darshan during corresponding months last year, recording decline of about 1.91 lakh. In the months of May and June, the pilgrimage has picked up as compared to last year.
Going by the pace of pilgrimage, the yatra was expected to touch four million in the next one week’s time.
“The month of June has witnessed maximum number of 11,25,747 pilgrims performing yatra and paying obeisance to Goddess Vaishno Devi in the cave shrine at Trikuta Hills, located at a height of 5200 feet from sea level. The second highest figure was recorded in May when 8,17,029 pilgrims visited the shrine. The number of yatris in May and June last year was 8,12,265 and 11,17,934 respectively,” sources said.
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) has geared up to provide more facilities to the pilgrims.
In the month of January this year, 3.59 lakh pilgrimage visited Mata Vaishno Devi shrine while the number during 2014 was 3.71 lakh and in 2013 it was 4.36 lakh. The yatra was down by 12,196 as compared to 2014 and 76,568 from 2013.
In February 2015, 2,89,460 yatris performed darshan of natural pindies of Goddess Vaishno Devi while the number during 2014 was 2,84,720 and during 2013 it was 3,49,433. The yatra was up by 4740 from 2014 and down by 59,978 from 2013.
In March this year, 6,17,785 yatris prayed at the holy cave shrine as against 6,62,889 in 2014 and 7,87,659 in 2013. The yatra was down by 45,104 from 2014 and 1,69,874 from 2013.
In April only 5,97,472 pilgrims visited the shrine this year, recording steep decline of 1,51,673 from 2014 and 4,34,829 from 2013.
During 2011 and 2012, the pilgrimage had crossed one crore mark. While the number of yatris was 1.01 crores in 2011, it went up to 1.04 crore in 2012. However, the number came down to 92.43 lakh in 2013 and 77.65 lakh in 2014.
Pilgrimage to Mata Vaishno Devi was just 13.95 lakh in 1986 when Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) had taken over affairs of the shrine. Since then, the yatra continued to go up every year creating new records but it fell down during past two years of 2013 and 2014 due to variety of natural reasons including Kedarnath ji tragedy in 2013 followed by tensions on the International Border in 2013 and 2014 and September 2014 flood.
It was for the first time in 1991 that the pilgrimage had crossed 3 million (31.15 lakh). The 4 million mark was reached in 1996 while the yatra reached 50 lakh in 2000 and 60 lakh in 2004. It was in 2007 that the yatra stood at 74.17 lakh.
The pilgrimage came down to 67.92 lakh in 2008 due to two months long Amarnath land agitation but again went up to 82 lakh in 2009 and reached 87.2 lakh in 2010. It was for the first time in 2011 that the yatra crossed 10 million mark and stood at 1.01 crore.
Follow our WhatsApp channel