Katra: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Saturday paid obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and prayed for happiness, peace and prosperity for all.
An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that inaugurating the newly constructed Durga Bhawan at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, the LG sought the blessings of the Mata Vaishno Devi and dedicated the facility to the devotees.
Congratulating the entire team of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi (SMVD) shrine board and everyone associated with the project, the LG said that the bhawan with the capacity to accommodate 3000 yatris per day would provide ease and comfort to the seekers, besides ensuring effective crowd management.
“The shrine board has started various new initiatives for providing better facilities to the yatris. Spiritual and cultural heritage is being revived by building modern infrastructure and administration is committed to ensure that devotees on sacred yatra are looked after well,” he said. “It is our responsibility to enrich the traditional values and facilitate the spiritual journey of the devotees coming from across the country and abroad, especially those who are elderly, sick and specially-abled.”
The LG said that the interests of the traders, ponywalas, local business community, and other stakeholders were being safeguarded while developing the facilities for the devotees.
He also shared the efforts for bringing prominent spiritual and religious places of the region on the spiritual tourism circuit, which would also generate livelihood opportunities for the locals.
“The shrine board has also approved the reconstruction of Shankaracharya temple near Katra. Underground cabling works will be completed next month and the skywalk will be ready by June. Many more projects are in the pipeline to uplift the religious tourism sector in the region,” the LG said.
The inaugural ceremony commenced with the LG along with board members and the chief secretary taking part in the hawan and pooja rituals.
Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, Principal Secretary to LG Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, Divisional Commissioner Jammu Ramesh Kumar, and SMVD shrine board member Anshul Garg also attended the inaugural ceremony.