Katra Hotel Association Offers Free Accommodation, 35 Bodies Recovered From Vaishnu Devi Landslide
Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra, which was suspended after Tuesday's Tragedy, was restored on Wednesday evening through the old route.
Katra Hotel Association Offers Free Accommodation, Vaishnu Devi Death Toll Latest News: Katra Hotel Association has decided to provide free accommodation for all those stranded, whether it's devotees or travelers, in Jammu division’s Katra, following the connectivity disruption caused by the heavy rainfall in the last few days that wreaked havoc in the region.
President, Katra Hotel Association, Rakesh Wazir told ANI, "The Hotel Association has decided that all the needy people will be given free accommodation for 2-4 days, till they want. Whoever is stuck here, we will provide them free accommodation. If they go to a hotel and it is full, they just need to call us at our control room, and we will allocate them a hotel so that no one can go without having darshan... The need at this time is that we stand with them in this hour of grief and support, and we are with them..."
The Jammu and Srinagar national highway remains closed for traffic for the third consecutive day on Thursday (August 28, 2025), the Hindu reported, citing officials.
Vaishnu Devi Death Toll
35 bodies have been recovered from the debris till Thursday morning from the massive landslide that struck near the Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at Ardhkuwari, about halfway along the 11-km trek from Katra to the shrine, at around 3 pm on Tuesday (August 26), according to a report by ETV Bharat
22 of the 35 recovered bodies have been identified. Most of them were from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. Families of many of the deceased have reached Katra, and the bodies are being handed over to the families, after completing legal formalities.
Army, Police, and SDRF men are still engaged in a rescue operation, and the operation is being carried out manually as the tragedy struck in a tough terrain.
Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra, which was suspended after Tuesday’s Tragedy, was restored on Wednesday evening through the old route.
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