After Golden temple in Amritsar, the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi, is all set to welcome pilgrims with a magnificent view of gold-plated entrance of the 96 feet long traditional cave on the occasion of Navratri festival beginning September 29. 

In addition, shrine board authorities have decided to decorate the bhawan shrine with imported flowers and fruits to create  ‘festive’ look and provide ‘spiritually’ stimulating atmosphere to the pilgrims during their stay.

This year, Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board authorities have also decided to illuminate 13 km long serpentine track connecting Katra base camp with colorful lights during the Navratri festival to attract rush of pilgrims.

The nine day long Navratra festival is being organised by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and District Administration, Reasi in collaboration with Tourism department and active participation of local  community/ Tourism and Trade Industry of Katra, NGO’s.

Community Kitchen services (langar) will be extended to the pilgrims along the yatra track where they will be served freshly cooked food for those observing ‘fast’ as well.

To ensure safety of pilgrims, elaborate security arrangements have been made by the security grid in and around Katra town, base camp of yatra.

State police and para military forces have been deployed in adequate numbers to secure the yatra route and important installations. The entire Katra town, bhawan area, and yatra track has been covered with CCTV cameras to monitor the activities of pilgrims and any other suspicious movement. X-Ray scanner machines and other scanning devices have been installed at various locations for better management of yatra.

To design ‘gold plated gates’, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine board authorities have hired a team of master craftsmen  who had already decorated world famous Siddhi Vinayak temple in Mumbai  and Jhandewalan temple in New Delhi.

Keeping in mind the intricacies involved in designing the ‘gold plated gates’ for the cave shrine, a separate workshop has been set up near the cave shrine to allow artists to complete their job with precision.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Simrandeep Singh told The Pioneer in Jammu,  “We are preparing to welcome the pilgrims on the occasion of Navratri by dedicating the ‘gold plated gates’ to the pilgrims.

He said, “We are expecting  pilgrim traffic to receive a major boost during the nine day long festival starting from September 29 till October 7”. 

“We expect 3 to 4 lakh pilgrim footfalls during the nine day long festival”. In 2018, 3.18 lakh pilgrims and in 2017, an estimated number of 3.02 lakh pilgrims visited the cave shrine during the Navratri festival. He said, “to attract rush of pilgrims we are going to decorate the bhawan area, from Manokamana Bhawan to the main temple, with imported flowers and fruits”.

He said, “we are importing the rich quality exotic flowers from Thailand, Holland, Malaysia, Singapore, Ooty, Palampur and Uttar Pradesh”.

Sharing details of the ‘golden gate’ project which was in the pipe line for a long time, CEO Simrandeep Singh said, “work on the ambitious project was sanctioned under the new ‘donation’ policy adopted by the Shrine board”.

He said for a long time devotees were raising the issue of installing ‘golden gates’ replacing ‘marble gates’ outside the cave shrine.

The Chief executive  Officer of Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Simrandeep Singh said that during this festival, various events will be organised which will attract audience from the length and breadth of the state and country. He said the Navratra festival will be inaugurated by the Governor Satya Pal Mailk on September 29 in Katra. A cultural procession showcasing rich cultural heritage of Jammu & Kashmir will be taken out from main roads of Katra every day. Devotional song competition, Hasya Vyang kavi sammelan, wrestling competition, special play on Mata Ki Kahani will be organised during the festival days.

This year, wrestlers from Pakistan have not been invited to participate in the wrestling competition. Owing to sour relations between the two neighboring  countries, the organisers of the event have not been inviting  them to

participate in the competition during Navratra festival in Katra since 2013.