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Stampede horror: Skywalk, RFIDs to manage pilgrims’ rush at Vaishno Devi shrine
J&K has introduced RFID tracking system and has also initiated ₹9.89 crore skywalk project in the Bhawan area to manage pilgrims’ rush at Vaishno Devi shrine
Following the death of 12 pilgrims and injuries to 16 others in a stampede on January 1 this year at the holy cave shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi in Trikuta Hills, the Jammu and Kashmir government has brought its act together.
It has introduced Radio Frequency Identity Cards (RFID) tracking system and has also initiated ₹9.89 crore sky-walk project in the Bhawan area for better management of the pilgrimage and to ensure no stampede takes place again.
The Vaishno Devi pilgrimage is considered to be one of the holiest Hindu pilgrimages and it attracts 35,000 to 45,000 pilgrims every single day during the nine-day-long Navratra festival. On lean days, the footfall is 15,000 to 20,000 pilgrims a day.
On the fateful night, overcrowding and mismanagement by the Shrine Board led to a stampede at the Bhawan that caused the death of 12 pilgrims and injuries to 16 others. The survivors had told HT it was a nightmare and some of them had said they won’t come back again.
A shrine board official admitted that total mismanagement on the part of the Shrine Board had led to the stampede and the board cannot escape its responsibility.
“There was overcrowding at the Bhawan because none at the two gates—Darshani Deodi and Tarakote Marg at Katra -- bothered to keep a check on the pilgrims on the fateful evening. It was a sort of free for all situation,” he said.
He, however, said that ever since the stampede, the first-of-its-kind incident at the holy shrine, the government has initiated a slew of measures to streamline the pilgrimage.
“Now, there is no complacency on the part of the officials on duty at Darshani Deodi and Tarakote Marg. They are 24x7 alive to the flow of pilgrims. Further, Radio Frequency Identity Cards (RFID) to keep a track on the movement of pilgrims have been introduced,” he said.
The board has also started work on the skywalk conceptualised with an emphasis on safety and facility that would provide separate paths for incoming and outgoing pilgrims at the Bhawan (sanctum sanctorum),” he said.
The skywalk will be ready by November or December. The work has already been initiated on it, he added.
The project will be executed through the CPWD and it will have wooden flooring. The length of the skywalk will be nearly 200 metres and its width will be 2.5 metres.
Besides, it will have seating arrangements for around 150 senior citizens and women with two waiting halls equipped with washroom facilities. It will be 20 feet above the existing track that leads to the Bhawan.
The present route will be used to reach the sanctum sanctorum and the elevated skywalk will provide an exit from the temple area or vice versa. Skywalk is one of the focused initiatives of the Shrine Board for yatra management as this facility shall ensure safety, comfort and ease of commutation of the devotees.
About RFID cards, the official informed that the technology has been extremely helpful to the shrine board for getting real-time information about pilgrims on the twin tracks, and Bhawan.
“The shrine board has set up scanners at every 50 meters or so for real-time info about the number of pilgrims present at different places on the two tracks and at the Bhawan. The information is being relayed 24x7 at the two control rooms at Bhawan and Katra. The live data is helping the officials to track how many pilgrims are there on tracks and at the Bhawan. Now, with this facility, if their number starts exceeding, say for example where there should not be more than 5,000 pilgrims at a time, the pilgrimage can be stopped from the two tracks till the rush is cleared at the sanctum sanctorum,” he said.
The RFID card is mandatory for the pilgrims and none is allowed to embark upon the pilgrimage without an RFID card, he added.
The RFID system is part of various new projects sanctioned for the convenience of the pilgrims in the aftermath of a stampede at the shrine on New Year’s day in which 12 pilgrims were killed and 16 others injured.
The RFID cards are available at Jammu’s Vaishnavi Dham, Katra railway station, Jammu airport and at Niharika Bhawan in Katra.
“It has all the details of the pilgrims, who have to return it after completing the pilgrimage,” he said.
Following the stampede, LG Manoj Sinha had announced several decisions to ensure the safety of the devotees, including a provision for 100% online registration.
Prominent social activist and high court lawyer Sheikh Shakeel said, “In my response to the RTI query in May this year, the general administration department (GAD) had said that no such inquiry report has been received by the GAD. The order of constituting a three-member inquiry was issued by then principal secretary GAD, Manoj Kumar Dwivedi on January 1 and seven days’ time was given to the three-member panel headed by then home secretary Shaleen Kabra, which had two other members, ADGP Jammu Mukesh Singh and then Jammu divisional commissioner Dr Raghav Langer. I also did 20 to 25 videos on social sites but there was no response by the administration. Today we are in September and the report remains elusive. None made those findings public.”
