Congestion Problems on Vaishno Devi Pilgrimage

[Guest guest]

Here are two stories about the huge crowds making summer pilgrimages

to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Northern India. The first (from the

Hindustan Times) sets out plans to relieve congestion on the

pilgrimage route. The second (from NDTV) suggests that the plans

aren't working as well as might have been hoped:

 

JAMMU, INDIA (May 18, 2004) - Pilgrims to the Vaishno Devi shrine will

find their uphill journey greatly eased as plans are afoot to

decongest the route in the coming year. The waiting period for

darshan, which varies between four to 12 hours, will also be reduced

to 15 minutes if all goes as planned.

 

The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVD) is planning to

decongest the 11-km uphill route from base camp Katra to the "durbar"

or the main shrine in the Trikuta hills here by introducing separate

routes for the ascent and descent. At the moment, there is only one

track that is very congested because of the huge and ever-increasing

rush to the shrine.

 

The SMVD is also planning to dispense with the long queues for

darshan, a proposal that has come as a big relief to pilgrims. The

project is likely to be completed in a year's time.

 

"Pilgrims will not have to stand in queues for more than 15 minutes.

There would be waiting halls with seating arrangements," said J&K

Governor Lt. Gen. S.K. Sinha (retd), who is also chairman of the

shrine board.

 

"All this is being done to ease pressure and to make the pilgrimage

easier for pilgrims. This is just one of the steps that the board

proposes to undertake," he said.

 

Plans are also afoot to construct an ice-temple at Him Koti -- which

will incorporate the history of the pilgrimage -- to add to

attractions en route to the shrine.

 

Source: HPI, The Hindustan Times

URL: http://www.hinduismtoday.com/hpi/2004/5/20.shtml#2

 

VAISHNO DEVI PILGRIMS STRANDED IN JAMMU

 

JAMMU, India (May 23, 2004) - Thousands of pilgrims go to Vaishno Devi

via Jammu every year during the summer months. But for each person who

manages to make the trip, there are several who remain stranded.

 

For thousands of pilgrims, Jammu railway station has become a

makeshift home, at least till they get railway reservations.

 

And since it is vacation time, the crowds are growing each day.

 

"No one is listening to us. We have been trying hard to get tickets

but they have just been shuffling us around to different counters and

trying to get rid of us like we are beggars," says Santosh, a pilgrim.

 

With thousands of passengers on the waiting list, agents are doing

brisk business. Passengers complain that due to the chaos they have no

choice but to deal with the agents.

 

"There are huge crowds here and a great deal of chaos. Immediate

action should be taken to sort out the mess," says Arvind Mahajan,

another pilgrim.

 

Ten thousand passengers make their journey to Jammu and Vaishno Devi

every day. Now a special train has also been pressed into service but

still on an average, four thousand passengers remain stranded every day.

 

And it seems if it will continue till the vacation time is over.

 

URL:

http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Vaishno+Devi+pilgrims+strand\

ed+in+Jammu&id=54344&headline=Vaishno~Devi~pilgrims~stranded~in~Jammu