There is hardly a day when Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine does not see any pilgrims. So much so, even during peak winter, the cave-shrine remains open to numerous devotees who trek all the way to the Trikuta Mountain to have darshan of the great Mother Goddess.

While, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board is already providing several facilities for the comfort of the pilgrims, on Friday, the shrine board has started free Prasad Seva in the Prasad Sewa building located on the traditional route to the main Bhawan. Under this service, devotees will be served with delicious halwa-chana prasad along with a hot cup of tea.

Located in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, the service was inaugurated by the CEO of the shrine board, Ramesh Kumar.

Ramesh Kumar told the press that the free prasad service will be available 24x7 for pilgrims throughout the year. In addition, a waiting room with an attached balcony has also been built near the Prasad Seva facility for pilgrims to offer them comfort and shelter during rainy and extreme weather conditions.

The Shrine Board has been running a free community kitchen in Tarakotte since May 2019, which operates non-stop.

The old and natural cave of Vaishno Devi temple was opened in January for the devotees to visit. The cave is opened for the public only in the months of January and February after Makar Sankranti considering the fewer pilgrims.

Generally, the pilgrims have to pass through new caves to reach the main cave-shrine of the goddess.