Tarakote Marg, ropeway inaugurated

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday formally inaugurated two important infrastructure development projects that have been completed by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. The first is the Tarakote Marg between Katra and Adhkuwari for providing convenience to on-foot pilgrims, and the other is the Siar Dabri-Bhawan material ropeway.

The projects were inaugurated at a function held at General Zorawar Singh Auditorium at Jammu University.

Governor NN Vohra, chairman, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board; Mehbooba Mufti, Chief Minister; Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, were among the many dignitaries present on the occasion.

The Governor expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for graciously agreeing to inaugurate two important infrastructure development projects that have been implemented by the shrine board.

Recalling that two years ago, in April 2016, the Prime Minister had inaugurated Shri Mata Vaisho Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Kakryal, and the Shrine Board’s Sports Complex, Katra, the Governor said in the past two years, the hospital had provided medical care to over two lakh patients and free treatment, valuing Rs 37 crore, to the poor and needy.

Earlier, Governor Vohra gave a brief description of the two projects. Tarakote Marg is a 7.5-km ramp style track that connects Banganga to Adhkuwari. This track, costing over Rs 80 crore, has been constructed for pilgrims who wish to walk to the shrine. He said the opening of the marg would significantly decongest the existing Banganga-Adhkuwari track on which mules and ponies also ply.

Tarakote Marg provides well designed facilities for the comfort and convenience of the pilgrims. The shrine board has also constructed a 1.5-km link road to connect the existing Banganga-Adhkuwari track to the new Tarakote Marg.

Regarding the second project, the Governor said the operation of the material ropeway would enable transportation of construction and varied other materials from Siar Dabri to the shrine. The ropeway, costing about Rs 12 crore, would enable movement of 5,000 kg of materials per hour to the shrine and it would very significantly decongest the existing track on which goods and materials are presently being transported in carts and on mules.

The Governor said the third project, which would become operational early next month, was the Rs 65-crore passenger ropeway, which would transport 800 pilgrims per hour from the shrine to the Bhairon temple. He noted that the one-way journey on foot to Bhairon Temple, which presently takes about an hour, would be covered in less than three minutes. He said the board had decided to charge a highly subsidised to and fro ticket of Rs 100 to enable the largest possible number of pilgrims to avail this facility.

Vohra observed that for the first time, the shrine board had got made a master plan of the shrine and its adjoining areas. He said in the past several years, the board had been implementing a continuing series of planned projects for strengthening the infrastructure and progressively enhancing facilities to be provided to the pilgrims. Besides constructing a new, airy and well-lit tunnel, through which pilgrims move to the sanctum sanctorum, enlarging the area for the Atka Arti to nearly three times its earlier size, constructing a modern complex around Adhkuwari Temple and adding several new ‘bhavans’ near the shrine at Adhkuwari, Katra, and Jammu, for providing increased accommodation to the pilgrims, they had also constructed a Spiritual Growth Centre, a modern Gurukul, and a College of Nursing. He further said the university set up by the shrine board, now in its fourteenth year, had 1,600 resident students who hail from 23 states. The engineering college of the university has been recently graded among the top 100 engineering colleges in the country.

The Governor noted that besides devoting continuing high priority to enlarging facilities for promoting education and health facilities in the region, the board was devoting very special attention to ensuring effective cleanliness and sanitation in the entire pilgrimage area. The board has established the required number of sewage treatment plants; modernised the existing toilets and constructed new toilets for men and women; established a biogas plant to utilise the mule dung that is collected from the tracks; and installed a number of ultra filtration-based water kiosks all along the tracks to provide 100 per cent clean water to the pilgrims.

On the occasion, the Governor thanked every member of the shrine board, each of whom has made extremely valuable contribution towards functioning of the board.

For comfort of Vaishno Devi pilgrims 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated Tarakote Marg between Katra and Adhkuwari and the Siar Dabri-Bhawan material ropeway
• Tarakote Marg has been built for the comfort and convenience of on-foot Vaishno Devi pilgrims. The shrine board has also constructed a 1.5-km link road to connect the Banganga-Adhkuwari track to new Tarakote Marg