The bus was carrying pilgrims from outside Jammu and Kashmir to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. Katra is the base camp for the pilgrims visiting the famous shrine atop Trikuta hills.
The Ganga water at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, where lakhs of people are taking a holy dip every day during the ongoing Maha Kumbh, is currently unsafe for bathing as it exceeds the prescribed limit for biological oxygen demand (BOD), a key parameter to determine water quality, according to government data.
According to the "do's and don'ts" issued by the ministry of home affairs, children below 13 years and elderly persons of about 75 years and above will have to travel in groups. Eco-friendly material, preferably cloth bags, should be used during the pilgrimage and the surroundings should be kept clean.
Prayagraj is a must-visit place in 2025, but in January and February you can't miss the Maha Kumbh, a spectacular event like no other.
The annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra began on Friday as the first batch of 58 pilgrims was flagged off by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat from Almora.
Following a stampede at New Delhi railway station and large crowds arriving for the Maha Kumbh, authorities in Uttar Pradesh have implemented stringent security protocols at key railway stations including Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Kanpur, Lucknow and Mirzapur. Measures include restricted entry, holding areas for passengers, increased security personnel, and improved facilities to prevent overcrowding.
The mini-bus carrying around 26 Sikh pilgrims, all from Peshawar, hit the Shah Hussain Express which was coming from Karachi to Lahore at a crossing near Sheikhupura district at around 1.30 pm, police said.
Telecom service providers and the Maha Kumbh Mela administration are on their toes to ensure smooth connectivity at the grand event set to witness record teledensity.
The advisory comes in the wake of the recent inclement weather along the Nepalganj-Simikot-Hilsa route of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nepal, and the consequent stranding of pilgrims for over a week.
Pakistan will allow 5,000 Indian pilgrims to visit the gurdwara every day using the planned corridor, and the numbers could be more on special occasions.
President Droupadi Murmu addressed both Houses of Parliament, highlighting the government's achievements in various sectors, including economic growth, social welfare, and infrastructure development. She emphasized the government's efforts to lift the economy out of "policy paralysis" and create a more inclusive society. Murmu also acknowledged the challenges posed by digital fraud and cybercrime and stressed the need for a social infrastructure revolution. The President's speech is considered a policy statement, outlining the government's vision and roadmap for the future.
About 124 pilgrims on a two day visit arrived at the sacred Katas Raj temples in Chakwal district near capital Islamabad on Friday and were overwhelmed by the official reception.
The Supreme Court on Thursday held that it is government's constitutional obligation to provide basic facilities to pilgrims who visit religious places and directed the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government to ensure proper health and other amenities to Amarnath yatris.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to give an early hearing to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking facilities for the devotees visiting the disputed site in Ayodhya.
'Some locals suggested that a heated argument between a group of kanwariyas and flower sellers outside the temple may have triggered the incident'
The main architectural lesson demonstrated by this project is how sacred spaces that have immense spiritual and heritage value, located in dense urban settings, can be transformed in a respectful and sensitive manner.
Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the shrine, said revenue collection on the opening day registered a growth of Rs 1.28 crore compared to last year.
The board said the yatra would continue between June 21 and July 5 from the Baltal route and not the Pahalgam one due to heavy snowfall in that region.
A Border Roads Organisation team will be stationed in Joshimath to monitor the yatra on a day-to-day basis and ensure immediate treatment of cracks on roads or any other problem that might arise, the chief minister said.
The Yatri Niwas Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu serves as the main base camp for the pilgrims from across the country.
The Travancore Devaswom Board that governs the affairs of Sabarimala has been entrusted to form an expert committee to come up with a detailed project report for transforming Sabarimala into a national pilgrimage.
The 'Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhyadham' has become the 68th civil airport terminal in the country to come under the umbrella of the specialised aviation security group of the central force.
China on Monday opened the second land crossing in Tibet via Nathu La to allow the first batch of Indian pilgrims undertaking the arduous Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra, in the latest confidence-building measure between the two neighbours.
Many low-lying areas in West Bengal's sub-Himalayan region were reeling from a flood-like situation while major rivers in Bihar were flowing above the danger level at several places as unabated heavy rain lashed the country's eastern parts on Sunday.
The worst terror attack in Iran this century occurred when Iranians marked the fourth anniversary of Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander General Qassem Soleimani's death. Soleimani was killed by a US drone on January 3, 2020.
On Monday, a new chapter will be written in Ayodhya's and the country's history with the consecration ceremony at the newly-built Ram temple which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and over 7,000 guests.
Resumption of 'Char Dham yatra' after a gap of two Covid-marred years is a welcome development for thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on it, but the death of 78 pilgrims on way to the Himalayan temples in less than a month is causing concern.
At least 10 Hindu pilgrims killed and several others injured in a stampede during a holy bath in the Old Brahmaputra River outside Dhaka.
A Shree Jagannath Temple Administration official said devotees will be required to wear "decent clothes" to enter the shrine.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday said the rescue operations launched following a flash flood near the Amarnath cave shrine -- that left 15 people dead -- has been called off and there was no report of any person missing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the first phase of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi, a project which is spread over five lakh square feet and connects the temple premises to the River Ganga besides providing several facilities to devotees.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held three back-to-back meetings with top officials of the security establishment to assess the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir, including the recent killings of civilians, as well as reviewed arrangements for the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra for which the UT administration will provide RFID tags to every pilgrim.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's private secretary V K Pandian played audio of the CM at a public meeting in Barpali in which Patnaik can be heard telling the people that he has sent the IAS officer so that they can tell their grievances to him.
Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a high-level meeting on June 3 to discuss the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the second such exercise in less than a fortnight which comes at a time when terrorists have been carrying out targeted killings in the Valley.
In a video that surfaced online, senior priest Santosh Trivedi alleged that the temple's sanctum sanctorum has been covered with brass plates in the name of gold plating, claiming it is a 'Rs 125 crore scam'.
In recent years, the twin demands of both religion and defence have been added to the development argument to sweep aside environmental and terrain considerations while undertaking infrastructure development in the Himalayan zone, points out former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Ending the line at Pipalkoti will mean the army will have to cover a longer distance to the China border by road than it would have needed to had the rail link gone up to Joshimath.
The annual Amarnath yatra to the 3,880-metre high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas will commence on June 28 and culminate, as per the tradition, on the day of Raskha Bandhan festival on August 22, officials said.
Ahead of a crucial meeting on Jammu and Kashmir, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and is believed to have discussed the security situation in the Union territory which has witnessed a spate of targeted killings since May 12.
