Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday said a committee has been formed to dispel apprehensions of Katra residents over the proposed ropeway project at the Vaishno Devi shrine.
Sinha, who is also the chairperson of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB), was speaking to the media after dedicating the newly constructed Durga Bhawan having the capacity to accommodate 3,000 pilgrims per day near the sanctum sanctorum.
Congratulating the entire team of the shrine board and those associated with the project, Sinha said the bhawan will provide ease and comfort to the seekers, besides ensuring effective crowd management.
“The shrine board has started various new initiatives to provide better facilities to the pilgrims. Spiritual and cultural heritage is being revived through modern infrastructure and administration is committed to ensuring that devotees are looked after well,” said Sinha.
“It is our responsibility to enrich the traditional values and facilitate the spiritual journey of the devotees coming from across the country and abroad, especially those who are elderly, sick and specially abled,” he added.
Sinha said the interests of traders, porters, local business community and other stakeholders were being safeguarded while developing the facilities for devotees.
“A ropeway from Tarakote to Sanjhi Chhat will come up soon. I assure the local people, traders and all stakeholders that the ropeway facility will be provided to only elderly, sick and specially abled devotees. We have kept a cap on the daily number of devotees. There will be no impact on the livelihood of traders, business community and porters,” said the LG.
Sinha said efforts to bring the prominent religious places of the region on the spiritual tourism circuit were being made, which will also generate livelihood opportunities for the locals.
“The shrine board has also approved the reconstruction of Shankaracharya temple near Katra. Underground cabling works will be completed by next month and the skywalk will be ready by June. Many more projects are in the pipeline to uplift the religious tourism sector in the region,” he added.
