Jammu and Kashmir: Security, weather issues hit Vaishno Devi pilgrimage in 2025

The pilgrim footfall at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir fell below the 70lakh mark in 2025 marking a significant decline as a series of securityrelated incidents and prolonged weather disruptions affected the annual pilgrimage officials saidAccording to officials a total of 6885 lakh pilgrims had paid obeisance at the shrine till December 28 this year with around 70000 more expected to visit in the remaining days of 2025 given the heavy influx of pilgrims in view of the New YearCompared to last year when annual footfall had crossed the 9484lakh mark the over 274 per cent drop underscores the cumulative effect of security concerns and natural disruptions on religious tourism in the region they saidThe year saw multiple setbacks with the Pahalgam terror attack in April that left 26 persons dead and prompted heightened security measures across the regionThis was followed by a major counterterror operation Operation Sindoor next month when the Indian armed forces hit terror infrastructure in Pakistan leading to tensions on the borderAdding to the challenges a landslide triggered by incessant rain along the yatra track near Katra on August 26 resulted in the death of 35 pilgrims and caused damage to a critical stretch forcing authorities to halt the pilgrimage for three weeks in AugustSeptemberOfficials said the prolonged closure during what is traditionally considered a highfootfall period had a direct impact on the overall pilgrim footfall for the yearSafety of pilgrims remains the top priority Decisions to suspend the yatra were taken based on realtime assessments of weather and track conditions a shrine board official saidDespite the challenges he said the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board continued infrastructure upgrades including track maintenance disaster preparedness measures and enhanced surveillanceThe yatra was resumed after restoration work and safety audits with additional deployment of security forces and continuous monitoring of weather advisories he addedAccording to official data the highest footfall was recorded in April when 981228 pilgrims visited the shrine while the lowest 185165 devotees payed obeisance at the shrine in September when the Jammu region witnessed record rainfall and floodlike conditionsMarch recorded the second highest pilgrim turnout of 940143 followed by June 926263 July 677652 January 569164 August 533756 November 423553 May 413365 October 384952 and February 378865 As many as 471396 pilgrims visited the shrine in December till nowFrom 1395 lakh in 1986 when the shrine board took over the affairs of the shrine there has been a steady increase in pilgrim footfall with each passing year touching the all time high of 104 crore in 2012 after 101 crore devotees visited the site in 2011The pilgrim arrivals at the shrine touched 3115 lakh in 1991 and reached 7417 lakh in 2007However the number dropped to 6792 lakh in 2008 which was attributed to the twomonth long Amarnath land row agitation but again went up to 82 lakh in 2009 and 872 lakh next year 2010The pilgrim arrivals dropped from 9324 lakh in 2013 to 7803 lakh in 2014 and further to 7776 lakh in 2015 and 7723 lakh in 2016It increased to 8178 lakhs in 2017 and 8587 lakhs in 2018 but again dropped to 7940 lakhs in 2019 the year in which the Centre revoked the special status toJammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union territoriesOnly 17 lakh pilgrims the lowest in over three decades visited the shrine in 2020 when the shrine for the first time in its history remained closed for five months amid the COVID19 pandemic and reopened for the pilgrims on August 16 2020 the data showedThe number of pilgrims increased to 5577 lakh next yearThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever