A massive landslide occurred near Ardhkuwari on the route to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra. So far, reports confirm that 31 people have lost their lives, while 23 others have been injured. Following this tragedy, the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage has been temporarily suspended. The incident was triggered by heavy rainfall, which continues and is also hampering rescue operations.

As a result, hundreds of devotees remain stranded, waiting to return home. Pilgrims from states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra are eager to leave, but with trains canceled, they are left with no choice but to wait.

On Tuesday itself, the Railways canceled 22 trains to Jammu and Katra due to bad weather, while routes of 27 others were shortened. Trains like Begumpura Express, Archana Express, and Lohit Express, bound for Jammu Tawi, were stopped midway. This precautionary step further inconvenienced passengers who had completed their pilgrimage and were ready to return.

Rajkumari Devi, a devotee from Motihari, Bihar, said, “We completed our darshan on Monday. Now we just want to go home, but the trains have been canceled. A big accident has happened, and we are scared. All we want is to reach home safely.”

Another devotee from Champaran, Bihar, added, “Train services have been stopped here. How will we get back to Bihar now? When we returned after darshan, we heard about the tragedy. We are stuck due to heavy rains. We even have tickets, but the trains have been canceled.”

Reasi SSP Parampreet Singh confirmed that the landslide occurred near the Indraprastha Bhojanalaya, close to the Ardhkuwari cave temple, on the Vaishno Devi shrine route. He said that 31 people have died in the incident. Following this, railway operations in the Jammu division have been suspended.