VAISHNO DEVI SHRINE REOPENS

CAP ON PILGRIMS Only 2,000 devotees will be allowed per day for a week, 1,900 of whom will be from J&K; 200 devotees paid obeisance on the first day

JAMMU : The Vaishno Devi Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir resumed on Sunday, nearly five months after it was suspended as a precautionary measure amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The first batch of pilgrims chanted religious slogans before embarking upon the pilgrimage. So far around 200 pilgrims undertook the pilgrimage,” said an official of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.

The Vaishno Devi pilgrimage was stopped on March 18 as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

In the first week, there shall be a cap of 2,000 pilgrims each day, of which 1,900 would be from Jammu and Kashmir and the remaining 100 from outside.

“The situation will be reviewed thereafter and a decision will be taken accordingly. Only the pilgrims who have registered themselves online are being allowed to undertake the pilgrimage,” said Ramesh Kumar, CEO of the board.

The pilgrims are required to install the Aarogya Setu App on their mobile phones before proceeding for the yatra. The pilgrims, coming from red zones, and outside Jammu and Kashmir would have to undergo Covid-19 test and only those pilgrims with negative reports will be allowed to move towards Bhawan.

449 NEW CASES, 15 FATALITIES IN J&K

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir recorded 449 new cases of the coronavirus infection, taking the total number cases reported in the Union territory to 28,470 on Sunday, while 15 Covid-19 patients died in the last 24 hours, officials said. According to them, all the 15 deaths were from the Kashmir Valley.

With this, the death toll in the Union Territory has risen to 542, of which 501 were from the Valley and 41 from the Jammu region

The recovery rate in the UT crossed 73.5%, the highest so far after 267 more people were cured, taking overall recoveries to 20,943. The active cases in the UT stand at 6,985.

A government spokesperson said 97 people were discharged in the Jammu division and 170 in Kashmir. Of the total, 16,201 cured in Kashmir while 4,742 in Jammu division.

PTI Over 200 devotees paid obeisance at the Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra, J&K, on Sunday. Religious places were reopened in UT after a gap of about five months.

WASEEM ANDRABI/HT A municipal employee sprays disinfectant at the entrance of Khanqah-e-moula shrine in Srinagar on Sunday.