New ‘golden gate’ at Vaishno Devi to greet pilgrims this Navratri

Come Navratri, pilgrims visiting Vaishno Devi shrine will be greeted by a new golden door adoring the entrance of the main cave shrine. 
Reportedly, the golden gate will be replacing the existing one that is made of marble at the entrance.News has it that it took 11 kg of gold, 1100 kg silver and 1200 kg copper to build this gate. To beef up the safety of the shrine, around 350 cameras will be installed around the main temple, and its master control room will be in Katra. The CRPF, Police, and the shrine board will be joint monitoring the area, which will become a permanent activity by the end of this year. 

Reportedly, the grand golden gate will have carved images of Goddess Vaishno Devi, Mahagauri, Siddhidatri, Kalratri, Chamunda, and others. A 6-ft tall image of Goddess Lakshmi will be towards the right of the entrance together with a special prayer room for aarti on the left side. 

News in detail

Nigerian police free 19 women and girls from Lagos ‘baby factory’: statement

LAGOS (Reuters) – Police in Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos, have freed 19 women and girls who had mostly been abducted and impregnated by captors planning to sell their babies. 

The girls and women, aged from 15 to 28, had been brought from all over Nigeria with promises of work, Lagos police said on Monday. Four babies were also found. 

“Baby factories”, as such premises are widely known, are most common in parts of eastern Nigeria. 

“The young women were mostly abducted by the suspects for the purpose of getting them pregnant and selling the babies to potential buyers. The girls were tricked with employment as domestic staff in Lagos,” said Lagos police spokesman Bala Elkana. 

“Boys are sold for 500,000 naira ($1,630) and girls for 300,000 naira ($980).”

News in detail