Shri Vaishno Devi Shrine to get ropeway from Katra to Adhkuwari
To facilitate the pilgrimage in the 700-year-old Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu, the shrine board on Tuesday gave approval to the much awaited proposal to construct a 1, 281-metre long ropeway between Katra and Adhkuwari.
The proposal was approved in the 69th meeting of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, presided over by the board Chairman Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
The trek between Katra and Adhkuwari is 6 km.
Sharing details, a shrine board member told that the discussion on this proposal was going on for a long time.
“In fact, for the first time in 2012, in the 51st meeting, the board had decided to conduct a study with RITES Ltd, a railway undertaking, to explore the possibilities of ropeway. RITES submitted its report to the board in 2017 which found it suitable for the construction of the ropeway between Katra and Adhkuwari.
“Since then, this proposal was continuously pending, which was approved in the first meeting of the newly constituted board held on Tuesday itself,” he added
One of the holiest Hindu temples, Vaishno Devi, is located at Katra town in Jammu district.
The temple is situated at an altitude of 5, 200 feet, about 12 km from Katra.
As per the proposal, 1, 281.20-metre long ropeway will be constructed with a maximum height of 590.75 metres.
It will have the capacity to carry 1, 500 people on one side per hour with each cabin having a capacity of eight persons.
While its construction is estimated at Rs.94.23 crore, RITES says 63 per cent of the operating cost can be recovered if the per passenger travel fee is kept at Rs.200.
He said the construction would start soon.
The pilgrim footfall at the shrine was over 55.77 lakh in 2021, compared to 17 lakh the previous year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He informed that the meeting also discussed and approved various proposals related to facilities for the devotees to make their pilgrimage hassle-free.
The new facilities and upgradation work will ensure that pilgrims from around the world have access to state-of-the-art amenities and the connection between local economy and pilgrimage is further strengthened, the Lt Governor said.
He said efforts are being made to create modern facilities like, new Durga Bhawan, spiritual theme park and services such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag for devotees within a stipulated time-frame for a pleasant experience.
Reviewing the ongoing projects of the shrine board, Sinha said the number of devotees from India and abroad visiting the holy shrine is continuously breaking records.
Sinha directed for adhering to the timelines for the completion of ongoing projects including Durga Bhawan.
With the aim of avoiding congestion at the bhawan, inter-alia due to crisscrossing of pilgrims, it was decided to have a multidirectional flow through measures such as ‘yatra queue management’ (skywalk) which would be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs.9.89 crore.
The project shall have a total length of about 160-170 metres and width of 2.5 metres with two rescue areas, an official spokesperson said.
While approving the proposals relating to Operation and Maintenance of Passenger Ropeway through Messrs Garaventa AG, Switzerland and Messrs Damodar Ropeways Construction Co (P) Ltd, Kolkata, the board asked the chief executive officer to ensure that there is no let up in regard to the safety of passengers.
Reviewing the proposals relating to the Slope Stabilization Project, the Lt Governor directed that rather than going in a phased manner, the entire stabilization work must be duly assessed and executed in one go.
The Annual Greening Plan for 2022-23 was also reviewed and approved by the board, the spokesperson said.
Keeping in view that the offerings and donations are the mainstay of the income of the shrine board and are utilized for creating infrastructural facilities for pilgrims as well as general upkeep and maintenance of the shrine, the SMVDSB has approved corporate donation policy’.
The policy is based on the suggestions received from time to time from various segments of devotees, the spokesperson said.
The board reviewed the Master Plan of Bhawan area, various underway projects, yatra statistics and trends and emphasised for timely completion of augmenting the facilities for pilgrims.
The board desired early appointment of a suitable incumbent to the post of director (enforcement and security) and to ensure that the post remains filled at all points of time, so as to ensure that the critical aspects of security, enforcement and crowd management are adequately addressed on a continuing basis, the spokesperson said.
Last month, the Lt Governor, who is also the chairman of the SMVDSB, reconstituted the board and nominated eight personalities from various walks of life as members for three years.
The eight members include AIMIL Pharmaceuticals Chairman K K Sharma, Mahamandaleshwar Swami VishveshvaranandGiriji Maharaj of Mumbai, retired IPS officer Ashok Bhan, retired IAS officer Baleshwar Rai and retired judge Suresh Kumar Sharma of Jammu.
