JAMMU, March 20 -- Braving inclement weather, over 31,000 pilgrims visited the holy town of Katra and paid obeisance at the Mata Vaishno Devi temple atop Trikuta hills in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district on the first day of Navratri, officials said on Friday.
"As many as 31,690 pilgrims visited the cave shrine and paid obeisance at the temple on the first day of Navratri (Thursday) till 10 pm," a senior official of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board said.
The nine-day Navratri festival got off to a grand start on March 19, with officials expecting a daily footfall of more than 30,000 pilgrims. It will conclude on March 27.
Decorated with fresh flowers and illuminated with multi-coloured lights for a spectacular view, the cave shri...