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| From next year authorities to focus on registration, crowd management, pilgrim safety | | Machail Mata Yatra | |  Sandeep Bhat
Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 21: In response to the tragic cloudburst that struck Choshoti village in the Kishtwar district on August 14, claiming several lives and leaving many pilgrims still unaccounted for, authorities are seriously considering making Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) cards mandatory for all pilgrims undertaking the annual Machail Mata Yatra from next year onwards.
Apart from RFID, authorities are also thinking of making registration mandatory for all pilgrims.
The natural disaster, which occurred during the peak of the yatra season, exposed critical gaps in tracking and managing pilgrim movement across the rugged terrain of the remote Paddar valley. As rescue operations continue and officials struggle to ascertain the exact number of casualties and missing persons, the administration is exploring ways to modernize and streamline the pilgrimage management system.
Officials believe that implementing RFID technology—already successfully in use during the Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir and the Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrimage in Reasi—will significantly enhance the safety, security, and accountability mechanisms of the Machail Mata pilgrimage.
Sources said that authorities are actively reviewing the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
“The absence of a proper tracking mechanism has made it difficult to determine how many people were actually on the route at the time of the cloudburst. RFID cards can help us avoid such confusion and improve emergency response in the future,” sources said.
RFID cards use a radio frequency system to log and track the real-time location of pilgrims.
These cards are scanned at checkpoints set up along the yatra route, providing authorities with continuous updates on the movement and location of individual pilgrims. In case of any disaster or emergency, this system can help rescuers identify stranded or missing individuals quickly, thereby speeding up relief efforts.
In addition to safety, RFID-based tracking also plays a critical role in crowd management, helping to prevent stampedes and over-congestion at sensitive points along the pilgrimage route.
The successful implementation of this system for the Amarnath Yatra, which sees lakhs of pilgrims each year under extreme climatic conditions, has demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing chaos, improving communication, and enhancing administrative oversight. A similar system is in place at Vaishno Devi, where it has helped regulate pilgrim flow and strengthen disaster preparedness.
The Machail Mata Yatra, which leads to the revered shrine of Goddess Chandi Maa in the high-altitude region of Paddar, draws thousands of devotees each year from across Jammu and Kashmir and neighboring states. However, the region’s rugged topography, narrow pathways, unpredictable weather, and poor mobile connectivity make it vulnerable to natural disasters like landslides, flash floods, and cloudbursts.
The August 14 cloudburst tragically underscored these vulnerabilities. Entire stretches of the route were swept away by gushing waters and debris, trapping pilgrims and cutting off communication lines. While rescue teams were mobilized promptly, the lack of a central database or live tracking system delayed efforts to identify the missing and assess the scale of the disaster. |
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