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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.

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