Jammu, October, 03: Several locals of Katra, Reasi (Jammu) on Monday staged a protest demonstration against Shrine board’s recently introduced ticket system or Radio-Frequency based identity cards (RIFD) for the Yatra.
The agitating locals raised slogans against the slip system issued to pilgrims during the Yatra, saying that it is a failure of shrine board as devotees are now standing for long hours here in queues, which is bothering them as it has elongated the devotees pilgrimage to the Bhawan.
As per the report, the system was introduced by the Shrine board to help in regulating the number of pilgrims in accordance with the holding capacity of the trek and the cave shrine. The radio-frequency identification system is based on wireless technology which can be tracked through radio waves. The tags can carry encrypted information, serial numbers and short descriptions.
One of the protestors Mr Raja Sadotra allegedly said that he has never seen such a long queue of devotees here in Katra waiting for their turn to receive their cards and it is taking four hours for a devotee to reach the ticket counter and get herself/himself registered. He further said that If the Yatris will have to wait for such a long period of time, who will come here to visit the shrine then.
“This is Shrine board’s mismanagement as the pilgrims have stand for such long hours for their turn and this should be stop because no one will then come here. We are facing the brunt of all this. One day the devotees who visit here from other states will unwillingly seek blessings of the Goddess from their television screens as no one wants to stand here in long queue”, he added.
He asked which pilgrimage the Shrine board is monitoring here cause the visiting devotees are carelessly keeping the RIFD cards with them as according to him many devotees don’t wore it and keep it in their pockets and many of the pilgrims take their cards along with them to their homes after pilgrimage.
“This is a mismanagement and not a facility he said”, he said.
A devotee said,” There is big crowd here and I have never seen one since the time I am coming in the Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra, I don’t believe this ticket system is working”.
Lastly he appealed the local administration to intervene in this matter and cancel this ticket system.
Aman Zutshi
