Delegation of Purana Daroor meets CEO Shrine Board;New track shall only be for pedestrian movements: CEO

STATE TIMES NEWS
KATRA: A delegation of residents of Purana Daroor led by Minister of State and MLA Reasi, Ajay Nanda met Chief Executive Officer, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, A.K Sahu for obtaining the clarity regarding the new track.
The CEO reiterated the Board’s earlier decision to maintain the upcoming track only for on-foot Yatris and clarified, yet again, that there is no plan for running battery cars for transporting pilgrims on the new Tarakote Track. However, it shall also be used for carrying of materials to the construction sites and for emergency evacuation and related purposes.
In this context, CEO stated that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has also asked the Shrine Board to use this upcoming track only for on-foot Yatris and an affidavit to this effect has been filed by the Shrine Board before the NGT.
The CEO informed that the work is in progress on the creation of essential wayside facilities and linking the new Track with Darshani Deodi so that Yatris have the option of choosing any of the track for their on-foot journey.
The residents of Purana Daroor demanded for constructing the proposed link from somewhere near the Shamshan Ghat after crossing the existing Darshani Deodi. At present, the link is being constructed around 150 mtr away from the Darshani Deodi adjacent to the army unit.
The CEO informed the Minister of State and the delegation about the technical difficulties in going with the demand of residents of Purana Daroor. He apprised that the land between Shamshan Ghat and under construction link does not belong to the Shrine Board and there are various settlements of labourers which would be very difficult to remove and taking up this additional extension of track may delay the project indefinitely. Besides, the strata of the said portion are loose and may cause landslides, if excavated. The land of the present under construction link is completely with the Shrine Board and very near to the existing Darshani Deodi, he added.
The CEO further apprised delegation that the National Green Tribunal has ordered for early opening of the new track for on-foot Yatris and if the length of link road is increased further the commitment made before the NGT cannot be met. Due to the above constraints, the link is being constructed, at present, near the army unit, he stated.
The CEO also told the delegation that the School of Planning and Architecture, Government of India, has also been approached for preparing a Master Plan for the Shrine area and the Board has directed CEO to take up work to revamp the infrastructure on the old track, including beautification and development of Ban Ganga.