news details |
|
|
| Devotees without slips won’t be allowed to stay at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan on New Year eve | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 25: Taking a lesson from January 1 worst-ever stampede at the Bhawan of the holy shrine, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine (SMVDSB) has taken many steps this year and devised risk management strategies to ensure the safety and security of the pilgrims on the eve of the new year.
Enforcement teams of the SMVDSB will be deployed for four days at the Bhawan from December 30 to January 2 to keep an eye on the number of pilgrims to avoid crowding and regulate the number of devotees.
These four days pilgrims who have valid accommodation slips will only be allowed to stay at the Bhawan. It will be the duty of the dedicated teams to make sure that devotees immediately return to the base camp Katra after having ‘Darshan’ at the holy cave.
Reports said that various measures have been put in place and proactive steps have been taken for smooth regulation of the expected influx of pilgrims likely to visit in large numbers from various parts of the country and abroad to visit the holy cave shrine on the onset of the new year.
Steps being taken by the authorities include the issuance of RFID cards, effective crowd management, working out plans for decongestion of the entire track, particularly the Bhawan area, separation of entry, exit routes at Bhawan, and all-time surveillance through a dedicated CCTV dedicated network of over 500 cameras.
SMVDSB has also issued guidelines for strict adherence to the COVID-19 guidelines as a precautionary measure.
On the concern about COVID-19, the official said all the stakeholders have been advised to wear masks while dealing with the Yatris.
The shrine board has made wearing face masks mandatory for every pilgrim attending the ‘Atka Arti’ and in the ‘darshan queue’.
Notably, 12 pilgrims died and thirteen were injured following a stampede at the Shrine on January 1. That was the first such incident at the Shrine. At the time of the incident, about 50,000 devotees were gathered on the eve of the new year. It is believed that cause of the stampede was a huge rush of devotees at Bhawan. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
