“The helicopter service at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine resumed this morning after remaining suspended for the past seven days,” an official of the shrine board said, adding pilgrim footfall has also started picking up after witnessing a sharp decline since the beginning of this month.
The battery car service for the pilgrims is also functional, the official said.
Over 30 lakh pilgrims have paid their obeisance at the shrine since January this year as against 94.84 lakh last year, he said and expressed hope that the rush will increase manifold.
“We are happy about the resumption of the helicopter service and the arrangements made by the shrine board,” said Shubam Kumar, a pilgrim from Delhi. PTI COR/TAS TAS NSD NSD NSD