Pilgrims continue trek despite Vaishno Devi landslide

A rain-triggered landslide struck the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine track near Himkoti in Katra, Jammu, on Wednesday evening. While the battery car service was temporarily suspended, the yatra continued smoothly via the old route.

Jammu: A landslide hit the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine track on Wednesday evening, but the yatra continued unaffected.

Officials said a landslide triggered by rain hit the Mata Vaishno Devi track atop the Trikuta Hills in Katra town of Reasi district on Wednesday evening.

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The landslide forced temporary suspension of the battery car service, but the yatra to the shrine remained unaffected, with hundreds of pilgrims continuing their to-and-fro trek despite the landslide.

The officials said the landslide occurred near Himkoti on the new track leading to the shrine following heavy rainfall.

The Shrine Board immediately rushed men and machines to clear the debris from the route, they said.

The officials said the battery car service was temporarily suspended, while the yatra continued through the old route.

Mata Vaishno Devi, also known as Vaishnavi, Trikuta, and Sherawali, is a Hindu deity considered to embody the nature of Shakti and, at the Vaishno Devi Temple, is self-manifest as three Pindis, described as the goddesses Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, and Mahasaraswati.

The deity is worshipped as an ascetic, vegetarian, and virgin goddess who is associated with Vishnu. Believed to be the Mahadevi, she is revered as a divine “Mother” who protects and grants boons to her devotees. She is also described in certain regional traditions as the eldest of the Seven Sisters, the goddesses of North India.

The Vaishno Devi Temple is a highly revered Hindu shrine nestled in the Trikuta Mountains in Jammu and Kashmir, at an altitude of 5,200 feet.

Dedicated to a manifestation of the Goddess Durga, the shrine requires a 13-kilometre trek (or helicopter ride) starting from the base camp town of Katra.