Parl panel to visit Vaishno Devi, meet shrine board members

A high-level parliamentary panel will visit the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and hold a meeting with the representatives of its board members regarding issues pertaining to pilgrims and will also take feedback of the visitors on areas which may require redress and improvement.

According to information available with The Tribune, the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Rajya Sabha on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice will be visiting Jammu and Kashmir between June 27 and July 2. It will visit Jammu and Srinagar and hold meetings with the Union Territory’s Chief Secretary as well as officials of various PSUs.

The committee, which is headed by BJP MP Brij Lal, will visit Mata Vaishno Devi shrine during its visit to gauge the feedback of pilgrims regarding areas of improvement at the famous pilgrimage centre, which can help enhance the visiting experience and add to the comfort and convenience of millions of pilgrims who come to pay their obeisance at the shrine throughout the year, sources aware of the development said.

Since public grievance is a major part of the committee’s area of focus, the members will be seeking feedback of the people regarding the infrastructure and arrangements and whether any further improvements are required. Also, if there are any issues of concern, those too will be discussed, sources said.

In Jammu, the panel members will also interact with representatives of Power Finance Corporation and NHPC as well as Power Grid.

During the Srinagar leg of the visit, the committee members will meet the Union Territory’s Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and also review the functioning of RTI as well as judicial infrastructure there, sources informed further.