New Delhi: A fire broke out in the cash counter of the world famous Mata Vaishno Devi Temple in Katra, Jammu today.
The fire immediately engulfed the entire cash counter. Fire brigade personnel and staff of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board struggled to douse the fire.
The reason for the fire at the cash counter at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan is yet to be ascertained. However, all efforts are on to control the fire. Since there is also a fire brigade post in the building itself, immediately after coming to know about the incident of fire from there, about a dozen fire brigade personnel started extinguishing the fire.
The employees of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and other security forces stationed in the building are also cooperating a lot. The flames in the cash counter of the building are being seen from far and wide. For the time being, the journey has been stopped midway.
Although due to the coronavirus pandemic, only a small number of devotees are attending the yatra at this time, the yatra has still been stopped as a precaution. The yatra will be resumed only after the situation becomes normal.
On April 30, a fire broke out in Shambhu Market in Charan Paduka temple area located on Mata Vaishno Devi Marg under suspicious circumstances. It took fire brigade personnel more than two hours to extinguish it but by then 15 shops had been burnt.
There have been fire incidents on Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan Marg in the past al well
There have been two horrific fires in the Charan Paduka area in the past as well. In the year 2009, there was a horrific fire at the PP market in the same area. Around 55 shops were burnt in this fire.
In the year 2012, again there was an incident of arson in the PP market. About 25 shops were burnt to ashes in that incident.