Protest rally marks 3rd day of strike against ropeway project in Reasi

Jammu, Nov 24: Hundreds of shopkeepers and labourers took out a protest rally on Sunday on the third day of their strike against a proposed ropeway project along the trek leading to the Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta hills in J&K’s Reasi district, officials said.

The protesters also held a sit-in outside the office of the subdivisional magistrate and Shalimar Park in Katra town, the base camp for pilgrims visiting the shrine. They raised slogans against the shrine board and the ropeway project, which they feel would render them jobless.

The three-day strike by shopkeepers, and pony and palanquin owners started on Friday after the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board announced plans to proceed with a Rs 250-crore passenger ropeway project between Tarakote Marg to Sanji Chhat along the 12-kilometre track.

The protesters held a peaceful rally along the traditional trek route, demanding immediate withdrawal of the proposal or proper rehabilitation of all families likely to be affected by the project, the officials said.

Most private shops along the trek route remained closed for a third day while pony and palanquin owners did not provide service to the pilgrims, causing immense hardships to many devotees even as the pilgrimage continued without disruption.

Manish Sahni, the Jammu and Kashmir chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT), joined the protesters and extended support to their demand, saying the ropeway project was akin to hurting the religious sentiments of the Hindu devotees and also harming the interests of the labourers providing services to the pilgrims.

“We are concluding our three-day protest with a sit-in outside the shrine board’s office later in the day… The leaders spearheading the agitation will chalk out the future strategy after the sit-in,” said Sonu, a leader at the forefront of the protest.

Congress leader and labourers’ union president Bhupinder Singh Jamwal reiterated his demand that the government should come out with a rehabilitation plan for the affected people and suggested a financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh for each labourer.

Last week, the shrine board announced implementation of the long-awaited ropeway project to facilitate a safer and faster journey for the pilgrims. “The ropeway project will be a game changer, especially for those pilgrims who find it challenging to undertake the steep trek to the shrine,” shrine board CEO Anshul Garg had said.

The project had been shelved in the past due to similar protests.