Vaishno Devi pilgrimage resumes after three-day suspension in J&K

The pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta hills in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district resumed Wednesday morning after remaining suspended for three days owing to inclement weather, officials said.

The traffic on the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway was also partially allowed after a day-long suspension, while all government and private schools reopened in Jammu and elsewhere after two days' closure, the officials said.

A spokesman of the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board said the pilgrimage to the shrine restarted with the opening of all registration counters around 6 am on Wednesday.

The pilgrimage is progressing smoothly with hundreds of devotees leaving base camp Katra for the shrine.

The yatra to the shrine was suspended along with Machail Mata yatra in Kishtwar district on October 5 to 7 following prediction of widespread rainfall in the plain and snowfall in the high altitude areas.

Machail Mata yatra also resumed this morning with the improvement in the overall weather conditions, the officials said.

After day-long closure due to multiple landslides, the officials said the traffic on Jammu-Srinagar national highway resumed this morning.

Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH-44) has not been fully restoredthe road is in poor condition at Tharad (Udhampur), Nashri-Dalwas and between Marog and Kishtwari Pather (Ramban), therefore only one-way traffic of Light Motor Vehicles was allowed from Srinagar towards Jammu this morning, a traffic department official said.

He said the Mughal road connecting Poonch and Rajouri districts in Jammu with south Kashmir's Shopian district is cleared of snow at Peer Ki Gali and is open for light motor vehicles from both sides.

The traffic on Kishtwar-Sinthan-Anantnag road, also another alternative link between Jammu and Srinagar, is still closed due to snow accumulation at Sinthan top, the official said.