KATRA JANUARY 01- Senior BJP leaders Mr Devender Singh Rana and Mr Surjeet Singh Slathia this morning visited the holy township of Katra and met the victims of the tragedy and expressed shock and grief over the tragic demise of pilgrims in unfortunate incident of stampede near Gate 3 of Shri Mata Vaishno Deviji Shrine in the wee hours.

Describing the tragedy as very grave, Mr Rana said the people of Jammu and Kashmir, as also the country are shell-shocked over the incident, first of its kind at the shrine, and are praying for peace to the departed souls and speedy recovery of those injured.

“We also join the compatriots in sharing the agony and expressing solidarity with the families who have lost their kin in the tragedy”, Mr Rana said while interacting with the media persons at Katra Hospital.

To questions by the reporters, Mr Rana said that this is not the time to indulge in blame-game. The administration and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board are taking all necessary measures to ensure that the mortal remains of the deceased reach their homes in a dignified manner and the injured go back to their homes cured.

He said Mata Vaishno Devi Ji is a matter of faith for millions across the globe and no politics must be played here and all must uphold the sanctity of the Shrine.

Earlier, the Mr Devender Rana and Mr. Surjeet Singh Slathia made enquiries at Narayana Hospital about the health of those injured and spoke to doctors about the status of the injured.

The BJP leaders were accompanied by Som Nath Khajuria, Dharamveer Singh Jamwal and other party colleagues.

CREDIT: THE OPEN VIEW