Machail Mata Yatra Deferred to July 28; Daily Pilgrim Limit Fixed at 8,000
JAMMU, Jul 25: The annual Machail Mata Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district has been postponed by three days due to adverse weather conditions and will now commence on July 28, subject to favourable weather, officials said on Saturday.
Located at an altitude of 9,705 feet in the picturesque Paddar Valley, the revered Machail Mata shrine reopened for devotees on April 14 after remaining closed during the winter season.
The 304.7-km pilgrimage begins from Jammu, with devotees travelling most of the distance by road before undertaking the final 1.7-km trek to the shrine.
To ensure the safety and smooth management of the Yatra, the district administration has restricted pilgrim movement to between 5 am and 5 pm and imposed a daily cap of 8,000 pilgrims.
The decisions were taken during a meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar Pankaj Kumar Sharma. Officials said registration for the Yatra has been made 100 per cent online and mandatory, while an RFID-based tracking system has been introduced to monitor the movement of pilgrims.
The Deputy Commissioner said the holy Kapaat (doors) of the shrine would be opened on July 25 in accordance with traditional rituals, which will be performed by the temple priests and local residents. However, the pilgrimage for devotees will begin on July 28, subject to an assessment of weather conditions.
He urged all devotees to complete the mandatory online registration before starting the pilgrimage.
To facilitate pilgrims, two RFID registration counters have been established at the Gauri Shankar Temple base camp in Sarkoot, Kishtwar, while around six additional registration counters have been set up at Gulabgarh.
Senior Superintendent of Police Kishtwar Naresh Singh said personnel from the Police, Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Special Police pickets have been deployed along the Yatra route to ensure the safety and security of pilgrims.
He appealed to devotees to strictly follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs), adhere to the prescribed travel timings and cooperate with the administration.
The enhanced safety measures come in the wake of the devastating cloudburst that struck Chisoti village, the gateway to the Machail Mata shrine, on August 14 last year, claiming 63 lives—most of them pilgrims—injuring several others and leaving around 30 people missing.
