JAMMU, Jul 25: The annual Machail Mata Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district has been deferred by three days due to inclement weather, with the pilgrimage now set to commence on July 28, subject to favourable weather conditions, an official said on Saturday.
Perched at an altitude of 9,705 feet in the scenic Paddar Valley of Kishtwar, the revered shrine reopened to devotees on April 14 after remaining closed during the winter months.
The 304.7-km Machail Mata Yatra begins in Jammu, with pilgrims travelling almost the entire distance by road before undertaking the final 1.7-km trek on foot to reach the shrine.
To ensure the safety and smooth management of the pilgrimage, the district administration has announced that pilgrims will be allowed to travel only between 5 am and 5 pm while a daily ceiling of 8,000 pilgrims has also been imposed, the official said.
The decisions were taken at a meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner, Kishtwar Pankaj Kumar Sharma, the official said, adding registration has been made 100 per cent online and mandatory and an RFID system has been introduced which will track the movement of the pilgrims.
On August 14 last year, a devastating cloudburst ripped through Chisoti village, the gateway to the Machail Mata shrine, killing 63 people — most of them pilgrims — injuring scores, and leaving around 30 others missing.
The deputy commissioner said the Holy ‘Kapaat’ of the sacred shrine will reopen on the July 25 as per the rituals, with the priests and locals at Machail performing the traditional rituals. Thereafter, keeping in view the prevailing weather, the pilgrimage for devotees will start from July 28, subject to an assessment of favourable weather conditions.
The Deputy Commissioner urged all pilgrims to complete their registration before commencing the Yatra.
He said two RFID Yatra Registration Counters have been established at the Base Camp, Gauri Shankar Temple, Sarkoot, Kishtwar and around half-a-dozen counters set up at Gulabgarh to facilitate the pilgrims.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Kishtwar Naresh Singh said Police, NDRF, SDRF, Army and Special Police pickets have been deployed along the Yatra route to ensure the safety and security of pilgrims.
He appealed to devotees to read and strictly follow the SOPs, observe the prescribed travel timings and cooperate with the administration. (Agencies)
