Vaishno Devi Darshan: The much awaited skywalk project being built for the convenience of devotees visiting Mata Vaishno Devi is expected to be completed by the month of September. At the Vaishno Devi temple in Reasi’s Trikuta hills, the work of building a skywalk at a cost of about Rs 15 crore is going on at a fast pace. It is expected that the skywalk will be operational much before the Navratri festival in October this year. In fact, 12 pilgrims were killed and many were injured in a stampede on January 1 last year, following which Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha launched a drive to streamline the pilgrimage and ensure that no such incident happens again. This project was conceived.
Initially the length of the skywalk was 200 metres, but it has been extended by 50 metres. The length of the sky walk has been increased by 50 meters in the existing queue near the lift (elevator) of Shridhar Bhavan. Initially, it was planned that the second floor corridor of Shridhar Bhavan would be used. However, it was found that the building was old and retrofitting was not advised by CSIR-CBRI Roorkee.
Waiting rooms, toilets and emergency exits have also been added to the project.
A 2.5 m wide pedestrian flyover is going to be constructed at a height of 20 feet from the existing track to serve as an entry way for sky-walk passengers.
A seating arrangement for about 150 passengers has also been planned by increasing the width of 5 meters in a distance of 40 metres.
There will be waiting area specially for differently abled pilgrims, senior citizens and women.
It is proposed to use the first floor of Laxmi Bhawan near the sanctum sanctorum for the construction of waiting hall for the passengers. Is.
Pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi is considered one of the most pious pilgrimages. This temple is situated on the hills near Katra town in Jammu region. These hills are known as Trikuta. There are three self-manifested idols of Mata Vaishno Devi in a cave in these hills. Here Goddess Kali, Mother Saraswati and Mother Lakshmi are enshrined in the form of Pindi. The holy cave attracts lakhs of devotees every year. The holy cave of Mata is situated at an altitude of 5200 ft. Yatris have to trek for about 12 km from the base camp of Katra. At the conclusion of their pilgrimage, travelers are blessed with a darshan of the Mother Goddess inside the Garbhagriha-the sacred cave. Since the year 1986, when the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board was constituted, the management of the shrine and regulation of the yatra has been vested in the Board. The Board has undertaken several developmental activities with an aim to make travel a comfortable and satisfying experience for the passengers. A large number of pilgrims from India and abroad come to bow their heads in the court of Mata Vaishno Devi. Skywalk construction will enable better queue management and avoid overcrowding.
