Mysterious Fire Strikes Mata Vaishno Devi Route, Several Shops Damaged

Katra (The Uttam Hindu): A fire had erupted due to suspicious activities near the pilgrim place of Charan Paduka on Mata Vaishno Devi shrine circuit. It damaged about 3 to 4 shops alongside the route. At once, on getting wind of the fire, the vehicles of the police and fire department from the Shrine Board responded with prompt arrival at the incident site, and their activities brought the fire in check. However, casualty figures were nil.

Meanwhile, in Katra, a bandh (strike) was declared today against the under-construction ropeway on the route of Mata Vaishno Devi temple, with shopkeepers and workers here already raising an alarm that as soon as the project reaches its culmination, they would lose their jobs to the tourists. Currently, it takes devotees about 6 to 7 hours to reach the temple by climbing the mountain. However, once the ropeway is completed, the travel duration will be reduced to as short as one hour because the ropeway is built to carry 1,000 people per hour.

The ropeway project would significantly help the elderly pilgrims. Garg also added during a press conference in Katra that the devotees visiting the temple were increasing every year. Ropeway project would then help accommodate the increasing influx of pilgrims, and that way, it would allow the journey to be smoother and easily accessible for all visitors.