Good news for Mata Vaishno Devi devotees as RFID cards will now be available at Katra station till midnight

Katra (The Uttam Hindu): To increase the convenience of devotees visiting Mata Vaishno Devi, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has changed the travel registration timetable. Until now, devotees could only receive RFID travel cards at all travel registration centers between 4 a.m. and 10 p.m., after which they could begin their journey. Without an RFID card, the Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrimage is not permitted, which caused difficulties for devotees arriving late at night.

In view of these problems, the Shrine Board has made changes to the schedule. According to the new order, RFID travel cards will now be available at the Yatra Registration Center located at the Katra Railway Station premises from 5 am to 12 midnight. Devotees arriving at the Darshani Deori entrance late at night with online travel slips and passengers arriving on late-night trains will be able to obtain RFID cards immediately by providing their train tickets and train name.

The registration center located on the new Tarakote Road will provide RFID travel cards to pilgrims 24 hours a day, whether they have an online travel slip or choose to avail Tatkal service. The timings of both the registration centers, located at Katra Main Bus Stand and Inter State Bus Terminal, remain unchanged. RFID cards will be issued here from 4 AM to 10 PM, as before.

At the Katra helipad registration center, passengers will receive RFID cards only during helicopter service hours, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The schedules for the travel registration centers at Vaishnavi Bhawan near Jammu Railway Station and Jammu Airport remain unchanged. Cards will be issued at both locations from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

This new order from the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has come into effect immediately. The administration states that these changes are intended to increase the convenience of pilgrims, so that late-night pilgrims do not face any difficulties. The Shrine Board is also preparing to open a new registration center in the Chintamani Temple area of Katra, where pilgrims will be able to register for their pilgrimage in the coming days.