The Mata Vaishno Devi ropeway project at Katra town in Jammu has led to much stir and tension, leading to a 72 hours chakka bandh from December 25. The people carried out the protest with the support of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangarsh Samiti, who was aggressively supported by the shopkeepers and pony wallas, among others. They announced a complete bandh in Katra to protest against the proposed ₹250-crore project.
The Shrine Board of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi announced the plan of a ropeway last month as a mechanism to assist elderly persons, Children, and all those who find it difficult to climb 13 Kms of a trek to the holy cave shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi. The project is designed to provide a link between Tarakote Marg and Sanji Chhat for the shrine’s improvement. But the Sangarsh Samiti and local people said that the venture is potentially disastrous for workers, shopkeepers, and other service providers who rely on the traditional route of the pilgrimage.
Things got rather heated up when police had to use the allies to charge the protesters. Some people arrested yawning protesters, and the security forces took a walk-around in Katra to calm the situation. The bandh dominated the life of the town, with restaurants closed, local transport off the road, and heavily inconveniencing visitors to the town who visit pilgrimage sites.
Some of the pilgrims complained over the interruption of their journeys. “There are serious problems in front of us. What abodes will pilgrims find food and sleep during this three-day bandh? That’s why such protests are inadmissible, and they impact thousands of guests.” According to one of the pilgrims, people should learn to live with the current situation one way or the other; they should stop the strike.
The ropeway project has raised the fire of developmentism over infrastructural natural preservation in prioritizing traditional occupations. While some people enjoy it as a means to modernization and keeping it easily accessible for everybody, some see it as a potential menace to their livelihoods. The protest and demonstration continuously underscore the challenges of development with the local economy development.
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