Vaishno Devi Landslide: Neither did we get a chance to escape nor to recover, the story of the disaster as told by eyewitnesses

News Topical, Digital Desk : The whole country was shocked to hear the news of the accident at the temple of Mata Vaishno Devi because devotees from every corner of the country reach to visit Vaishno Devi. Like every day, devotees were climbing to visit Mata Vaishno Devi and those who had already visited were returning. It was raining continuously in Jammu for three days and the devotees were unaware that doom was waiting for them near Ardhkumwari.

Stones started falling at 3 pm on Tuesday afternoon

According to eyewitnesses, it was around 3 pm on Tuesday when big stones suddenly started falling from the hill a few meters away from the Ardhkunwari temple. The people present there neither got a chance to run nor to recover. Till yesterday evening, there were reports of 5 to 7 people dying, but by Wednesday sunrise this figure increased to 34. There is chaos from Katra to Jammu... instead of cheers, screams are being heard. 

Every day 25-30 thousand pilgrims visit the place

When the climb starts from Katra, one has to travel 14 kilometers to reach the temple, while after 7 kilometers the devotees stop to visit the Ardhkumwari cave. Many times devotees visit the cave while returning. It was raining heavily at around 3 in the afternoon and thousands of devotees were either climbing or returning on the 14-kilometer long pilgrimage route. And then something happened that no one had imagined. Statistics show that every day 25 to 30 thousand pilgrims come to visit Mata Vaishno Devi and there is no part of the country where there are no devotees of Mata Rani.

58 trains were cancelled

After heavy rains, the situation worsened so much that trains going from Jammu, Katra, Pathankot, Amritsar to Delhi or further are not running. Railways have cancelled 58 trains in Jammu region. Important trains like Delhi to Katra, Delhi-Jammu Tawi, Amritsar to Katra are affected. Even today the route of 64 trains has been shortened. This situation has arisen for this reason. 

Schools and colleges will remain closed

Educational institutions in Jammu and Kashmir will remain closed on Thursday (28 August) in view of the flood-like situation. This information was given by Education Minister Sakina Itoo. Itoo posted on 'X' on Wednesday, "Schools and colleges in Jammu and Kashmir will remain closed tomorrow (28.08.2025) due to bad weather."

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