After 12 pilgrims died in a stampede at Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir, the temple’s board switched the pilgrimage bookings to online mode only on Sunday, The Indian Express reported.
The decision regarding online bookings was taken at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board management’s meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday.
Apart from the online mode, pilgrims could previously avail their permission slips at Katra town. On an average, only 2,000 daily yatra slips are issued online and around 28,000 are issued to pilgrims as they reach Katra, an official from the temple board told The Indian Express.
The temple board asked its Chief Executive Officer Ramesh Kumar to take measures for effective crowd management and improve the infrastructure. It asked Kumar to make a plan to decongest the entire track “particularly the Bhawan area, [and] separation of entry and exit routes at [the] Bhawan”.
Meanwhile, the Divisional Commissioner of Jammu, Raghav Langar, asked witnesses to record their statements so that he could establish the circumstances that led to the stampede, The Hindu said.
“Any person who desires to furnish any facts, statements, evidence may share the same,” he said. “Any person who desires to meet in person, may appear before the enquiry committee in person on January 5.”
The stampede reportedly occurred because of a huge rush of devotees outside the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine. More than 25,000 pilgrims had entered the shrine, many of whom allegedly did not have the permission slips.
However, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh claimed a minor altercation among some young boys led to the stampede.
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