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| Paid darshan scheme is class segregation | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | June 3
Pilgrims' darshan in the historic shrine of Mata Vaishnov Devi has been put on sale.The highest bidders would be treated as VIPS.They have not to stand in the queues.Each pilgrim who can afford to pay Rs.1000 will be ushered into the holy cave within seconds.Those who pay Rs.500 may have to wait for a few minutes.Those who can afford to pay Rs.200 can have darshan of the Mata hardly after a wait of 10 minutes.Those millions of the poor who travel from distant places in the country,who cannot afford to buy priority tickets,which are on sale,have to cool their heels in rain and icy winds in the winter and in sizzling temperature during the summer.They,will have to move inch by inch if the number of ticket buyers swells.Those who opt for paid darshan will be entitled to enter into the holy cave from separate entry points.This way the Shrine Board has favoured class,if not caste,segregation.The rich plgrims stand segregated from the poor devotees.
It is a well known fact that Mata Vaishnov Devi has remained opposed to any caste or class segregation.In fact out of 75 lakh pilgrims who visit the holy cave annually more than 65 per cent people belong to the poor and the lower middle class.It wll be heart rending scene outside the sanctum where children of lesser gods would shed tears or heave painful sighs while seeing children belonging to the affluent class tip-toeing in and out of the holy cave.The Shrine Board seems to have thrown to winds the well established belief that all men and women are equal before gods.If the Board has not favoured caste distinction it has taken a step which could discourage the poor in visiting the holy shrine.If they stand discouraged the pilgrim traffic is likely to decline sharply.The result will be a setback to the pilgrim tourism depriving traders,hoteliers,ponywallas and transporters,including the.Railways,of lucrative revenue.
Ask those who man the Shrine Board.They say,in support of the Board's decsion,that the entry into the holy cave has been put on sale simply to prevent those security personnel from extracting money from the pilgrims while helping them in jumping the queue. Preliminary investigations conducted by senior Board officials had unearthed a nexus between the security personnel,deployed in and around the shrine,and the middlemen who would arrange speedy darshan after paying money to the police.On a couple of occasions the Board officials had recovered several thousand rupees from the stuffed pockets of security officials and the money had come from the pilgrims.Hence Board thought of a novel method to check corrupt practices which when fully tackled could enhance the revenue of the Board which is engaged in various development activities.The Board sources said that putting Darshan on sale at Mata Vaishnov Devi shrine was not someting new.Pilgrims visiting Truputi shrine in the south pay anything between Rs.one lakh and Rs.10 lakhs for entry into the shrine without waiting in the queue for days together.
The Board arguments do ot seem tenable and plausible.The Board had already introduced priority slips which pilgrims could have after payment of Rs.50 per pilgrim.This and the income from offerings and donations from pilgrims have been running in several crores annually.The silver and gold offerings are sold outside the state worth several crores of rupees.It was on account of rich resources of the Board that it has been able to establish university of excellence in a record time near Katra.Its plan on setting up a Medical college will see the light of the day shortly.Hence there was no need for putting Darshan on sale.Secondly,instead of going for tough measures,that are anti-poor in nature,the Board should have introduced a mechanism which could prevent security personnel from helping pilgrims in jumping the queue after getting money.Let the poor,and those who cannot afford to buy darrshan,remember that "those who wait and watch also serve God." |
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