9.5 million pilgrims visited Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in 2024

Srinagar, January 1 : In Jammu and Kashmir nearly 9.5 million pilgrims visited holy cave shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji last year despite back-to-back elections to Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly in J&K and terror strike on Shiv Khori pilgrims at Reasi on June 9. Around 94.80 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance to Goddess Vaishno Devi Ji this year, just 42 thousand less than the previous year, 2023 when annual pilgrimage stood at 95.22 lakh.

CEO, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB), Anshul Garg said that there was heavy rush of pilgrims on the last day of the year yesterday and the yatra has been regulated as per the guidelines. He said the pilgrimage this year stood at 94.80 lakh as against 95.22 lakh in 2023 and 91.25 lakh in 2022. Worth to mention, only 17 lakh pilgrims, the lowest in over three decades, visited the shrine in 2020 when it remained closed for five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pilgrim footfall at the shrine touched an all-time high of 1.04 crore in 2012. This year, however, the pilgrimage came down during Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in J&K. A slight decline for few days was also witnessed after the terror attack on a bus carrying Shiv Khori pilgrims on June 9 in which nine yatris were killed.