Two years ago Mata Sukrala and Bala Sundri Shrine Board in Billawar was constituted by an Act of the Legislative Assembly. However, the Board has belied the expectations of the people and especially the pilgrims who visit the shrines annually. The reason is that the Board is bogged with litigations and internal dissensions and the purpose for which it had been constituted remains defeated. The Board has done nothing that would go by the name of facilities for the pilgrims. The situation has come to a pass that some members of the Board are now mulling for resigning from it and thus saving themselves from the ire of the people for inactivity of the Board in general. We fail to understand why not the Sukrala Mata Shrine Board took cue from the highly efficient and capable Shrine Board of Mata Vaishno Devi because it was almost planned in a way to be its replica. So far, the Board has only taken over the control of offerings, installed CCTVs around the shrines and constructed a Sulabh Shouchalya (public toilet) near the bus stand at Sukrala. Beyond that the management of Sukrala Mata and Bala Sundri temples, has contributed nothing tangibly in respect of providing facilities to the pilgrims, improving the environs of the shrine, drawing a roadmap for its development and catering to the needs of the pilgrims in a manner that their numbers increase with the passage of time. It is so sad that the Board has run into litigation and other difficulties. It must exert and establish its identity as the hub of social activity in the Billawar region. There may be an element of apathy from the Government but if the Board is active and meaningful, it can make things go. If it gives an impression to the Government that, it is sluggish and not dedicated to achieve the bigger goals for the Shrine, the Government will naturally take things lightly. Therefore, before bringing the onus to the doorsteps of the Government, the Shrine Board must set its own home in order.
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