Reasi, March 30 -- Thousands of pilgrims flocked the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Trikuta hills of Jammu and Kashmir as the nine-day Chaitra Navratri festival began on Sunday.
Heavy security arrangements, including AI-enabled CCTV cameras and drones, have been deployed at the base camp of the bhawan and along the route to avert any untoward incident, officials said.
While 48,000 pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine on Saturday, the numbers are set to increase as serpentine queues were seen on Sunday from the base camp to the shrine.
"I greet pilgrims on the occasion of Chaitra Navratri. There is huge enthusiasm among pilgrims from Katra to Bhawan. There has been a significant increase in the flow of pilgrims. Long queues are visible...