Jammu, March 31: The Vaishno Devi Shrine Board on Tuesday, denied rumours that around 400 pilgrims are stranded at the temple. The board clarified that no devotee is currently stranded in Katra or at the Vaishno Devi shrine. The pilgrimage was suspended on March 18, days before the 21-day lockdown was imposed in the country. Coronavirus Lockdown: Over 21,000 Camps Operational in India, Housing Over 6.6 Lakh Stranded People, Says Home Ministry.

RK Jangid, CEO Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, told news agency ANI, “Some news is spreading in social media that 400 devotees are stranded at the Vaishno Devi shrine. It is clarified that no devotee is stranded in Katra or Vaishno Devi. Yatra stopped on 18th March, much before the lockdown.”

ANI's Tweet:

Recently, reports also surfaced that 400 devotees were stranded in Jammu due to the ongoing countrywide lockdown. Some reports also claimed that, the devotees had assembled in a temple complex in Jammu city. Most of the pilgrims were reported to be from Bihar. Catch all the live updates related to coronavirus outbreak in India and other parts of the world.

On Monday, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had also directed the Union Territory authorities to ensure that the pilgrims stranded at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine should not be vacated from the hotels and should be provided with adequate facilities during the nationwide lockdown. The 21-day countrywide was imposed by the Centre on March 25 to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 31, 2020 08:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).