New Delhi: New policies are in place now for all pilgrims to the holy shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. All pilgrims are required to register and obtain an RFID travel card prior to the commencement of their journey. According to the Shrine Board, pilgrims have to begin their journey within twelve hours after getting the RFID card and have to return to the base camp in Katra after twenty-four hours. Previously, although the card had expiration for the journey, there was none for the completion of the pilgrimage. For the first time, a deadline for completion of the yatra was given.The administration pointed out that there is a significant increase in the number of pilgrims as the New Year approaches. As a rule of thumb, there is traditionally a heavy inflow of pilgrims three to four days prior to the New Year.To avoid overcrowding and potential emergencies within the shrine and adjacent areas, the Shrine Board teamed up with registration officials to relay the new policies to pilgrims to avoid any safety and overcrowding issues. These new policies are set to take effect, all forms of travel. This includes the traditional walks, helicopter rides, and battery-powered cars.Advance online recording is now necessary for all pilgrims and must be done via the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board website. To assist interested pilgrims, a registration office has been set up at the Katra railway station, which is open until 12:00 AM.Updated Policies Focused On Safer And More Efficient PilgrimageRecent statements by the Shrine Board indicate that the primary goal of these regulations is to create a better-organized pilgrimage by increasing safety. In order to decrease the amount of time that pilgrims will be spending on the trail, this will decrease the amount of bottlenecking that occurs and allow for swifter response in the case of emergency rescue situations in the event of an illness or bad weather, and will lessen the possibility of health issues caused by the cold. To better assist in the management of the crowd so that pilgrims may have an efficient opportunity for the darshan, particularly during the New Year’s rush, the Board wishes to make it known that the intention of the new regulations is in no way to create additional inconvenience for for the pilgrims.
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