The natural cave of Mata Vaishno Devi temple located on Trikuta hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir was opened for devotees on Tuesday on the occasion of Makar Sankranti festival. Officials said that after special prayers, the doors of the old cave were opened for the devotees. He told that Anshul Garg, Chief Executive Officer of ‘Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board’ also participated in this worship.
The natural cave located within the sanctum sanctorum of the temple is usually opened during the winter months when the crowd of devotees is less. Many devotees eagerly wait for that day to have darshan at the temple through the natural cave. This cave remains closed for most of the year due to security reasons.
Garg said, “Based on the rush of devotees, the natural cave has been opened for them from today. We will allow pilgrims to visit the old cave only when their number is less than 10,000 so that they do not face any inconvenience.
He said that pilgrims are moving smoothly through the new cave as there is space for a large number of pilgrims and they do not face any difficulty. Officials said that since the beginning of the new year, more than 1.50 lakh devotees have visited Vaishno Devi. Last year, 94.83 lakh pilgrims had visited this holy pilgrimage site, which is the second highest number of devotees in a decade.