Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board authorities are fully geared up to welcome the pilgrims on the eve of the New Year 2021.
The Fresh spell of snowfall at the cave shrine has already become an attraction point and key motivating factor for pilgrims to pay a visit and offer special prayers before ushering in the New Year 2021. The Shrine board is also hoping to record substantial rise in the total offerings with the increase in the footfall of pilgrims. On Sunday the highest number of around 13,000 pilgrims were registered by the Shrine Board.
Local markets, which remained deserted for about nine months, are already brimming with a lot of activity.
Street food vendors are doing brisk business while the local tour operators, businessmen and hoteliers are also keeping their fingers crossed and looking forward to welcoming a large number of pilgrims on the eve of the New Year 2021.
For the last three days the registration counter at the Katra base camp is recording a gradual increase in the pilgrim traffic.
The numbers are expected to rise in the run up to the New Year celebrations as a large number of pilgrims prefer ushering in the New Year at the cave shrine, located in the Trikuta hills. As of now an upper limit of 15,000 pilgrims per day has been fixed by the Union Territory administration in the wake of Covid-19 guidelines and protocols.
During Covid-19 pandemic when the pilgrims were not able to visit the shrine special arrangement was made to beam 'live' coverage of Aarti at the shrine via special mobile app and arrangements were also done to home deliver packets of 'prasad' at the doorsteps of a pilgrim in collaboration with India post. Ramesh Kumar, CEO Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board said, “We have received a very healthy response from the pilgrims from all over the country”. We have already delivered more than 15000 packets and pilgrims are still booking their orders via Mobile App and through the website as well. Ramesh Kumar said, “keeping in view the prevailing Covid-19 restrictions, elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure strict adherence of the protocol and social distancing on the eve of the New Year”.
Ramesh Kumar said, “We are ready to welcome pilgrims in the New Year ahead and have made elaborate arrangements to ensure their safety and security”. He said besides offering them battery car facility, helicopter services and better accommodation facilities we have ensured adequate medical care facilities remain in place to look after the health needs of any patient during the yatra period.
The Shrine Board CEO said, “ambulances have been deployed along the yatra track to tackle any emergency”.
Talking about future projects which are in the pipeline, Ramesh Kumar said, “ in the year 2021 the Shrine Board is going to install 7 big screens at different locations to beam visuals of Atka Arti live for the benefit of pilgrims. We are also focusing on expanding the base of Today's darshan live via Mobile App.
In addition, he said, construction work of Durga bhawan, with a capacity to accommodate 1700-1800 pilgrims during one shift is going to be launched and completed soon. In addition, 50 percent work on underground cabling has been completed while work is in progress on providing CCTV surveillance along the yatra track.
Rakesh Wazir, President of the Katra Hotel and Restaurant association said, recently we had appealed to the government to lift the upper sealing of permitting 15,000 pilgrims per day. Rakesh Wazir said, “we have been repeatedly urging the government to lift the sealing and allow interstate bus services to ply normally so that pilgrims from the neighboring states of Punjab, Himanchal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan can smoothly visit the shrine”.
Wazir said, “all over India the local governments have lifted restrictions and pilgrim traffic is moving smoothly. The UT administration must respond to their demands to allow them to restart their businesses, which suffered huge losses on account of complete shutdown due to Covid-19 pandemic”. Rakesh Wazir said, “majority of pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine are returning the same day and only a small fraction is staying back and looking for hotel accommodations”.
Ramji Lal, a tourist from Bharatpur area of Rajasthan told this correspondent in Katra, we are a group of 103 pilgrims from Rajasthan who visited the cave shrine. We wanted to come earlier but due to restrictions we stayed back. He appreciated the facilities and other logistics support extended by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine board authorities to facilitate pilgrimage.
Rakesh Wazir said, “we are waiting for the response of the government. They are holding special festivals to promote winter sports activities in Kashmir valley and nearby tourist resort of Patnitop. We appeal to them to promote spiritual tourism as well by lifting the upper limit”.
Ankush Kumar, a local supervisor at the Vivek hotel in Katra said, each day we are receiving queries from our customers. They want to visit but due to absence of interstate bus service they are not able to pay a visit. He said pilgrim traffic is picking up gradually and they expect in the new year things will start normalising.
Ravinder Singh, an autorickshaw driver from Poni said, “we need support of the government after a complete washout last season. He said ahead of New year celebrations the pilgrim traffic is witnessing sharp increase. He said to ferry pilgrims from Banganga to the Katra market they have to wait for about three hours. He said it’s really difficult to sustain ourselves. “We need support from the local government. Small businessmen too need support but in the absence of any rehabilitation package several small
players have either shut their operations or are doing other work to minimise their losses”.
