Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in the Trikuta Hills is gradually becoming the icon of religious, social and cultural development of the State. The Shrine Board wants to exploit its tremendous social potential to the hilt by drawing ambitious plans for future. It is owing to the efficiency of the Shrine Board that significant development has been made over past decade or two in a number of areas like connectivity, accommodation, and facilities for pilgrims, road safety, administration and conduct of pilgrimage related matters and many more. Pursuing the upkeep of a shrine which is visited by over a crore of pilgrims annually is Herculean job. But thanks to the efficiency, sense of responsibility and dedication to duty of the Board administration that pilgrims coming from all the four corners of the country feel happy and satisfied that the shrine pilgrimage is excellently conducted by the organizers.
Many crucial and major decisions were taken by the Shrine Board in its 55th meeting held recently under the chairmanship of Governor N.N. Vohra who is also the Chairman of the Board. A conspicuous decision that will be well received by the people of the State is that Board (SMVDSB) will launch four major projects including Multi-Specialty Hospital and alternate Katra-Adh Kunwari track this year after which it will generate infrastructure and facilities for opening the Medical College and Nursing College in the hospital
Decisions to launch new projects including 230 bedded Multi Specialty Hospital, opening of Katra-Adh Kunwari track, Bhawan to Bhairon Ghati ropeway project and Multi Purpose Audio System along entire track from Ban Ganga to Bhawan are all significant in their place. There are more projects that were discussed and approved in the meeting of the Board and instructions were issued to the officials of the Board to take immediate steps of implementing these decisions.
The way in which this popular and highly reverenced shrine is going to become the focal point of social, religious and cultural development should be taken as a model of how other shrine can be developed along utility lines. We have numerous shrines in all the three regions of the State. They are well maintained by the caretakers and are open to visitation by the devout. But in some cases, administration and functionality need to be streamlined and upgraded. The shrines and shrine boards should not remain cut off from their social, religious and cultural mooring. These cultural centres should develop the capacity of rendering social service in whatever way possible. Why cannot other shrine boards or managing organizations think of creating public institutions for the welfare of larger number of people in the three regions of the State? Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has successfully set up a university which is progressing by leaps and bounds. It is coming up as one of the prestigious universities in Northern India where departments catering to modern branches of knowledge with enviable faculties are at work. The Shrine Board is also taking care of formal as well vocational education to the school going youth so that they become capable of earning for themselves and serving the nation. Inception of 230 bedded Multi Specialty Hospital as Kakryal as stated by the spokesman of the Shrine Board and also the proposal for opening Medical College and Nursing College in the Hospital will change the destiny of the people in the State in general and in the hilly and backward region in particular.
This shrine board is gradually developing into a model that should be emulated by other religious institutions. Responsible functionaries of other shrines and temples should learn from SMVDSB by developing contacts with it. For example, we would wish the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board to plan social and cultural services along the lines of Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board for Kashmir valley. It should be possible for that Board to chalk out social and cultural developmental agenda and give it wide publicity. The number of pilgrims to Shri Amarnath Cave is increasing each year owing to satisfactory arrangements made by the Government and the Board for providing conveniences to the pilgrims. It is anticipated that the number will swell further once road and rail connectivity is fully functional. Amarnath Cave shrine is more picturesque and has more attraction for pilgrims within and outside the country. Educational institutions, hospitals, medical institutes etc. run by the shrine and religious organizations have, by and large, been successful in enforcing high moral and spiritual standards of the students besides providing them state of art education right up to the highest level.
Evidently a great future is awaiting the town of Katra. If the Centre agrees to make it a Smart City, then it has the potential to become a very important city of Jammu region
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