President Droupdi Murmu visits Maa Vaishno Devi, inaugurates skywalk and upgraded Parvati Bhawan
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President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday paid obeisance at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and inaugurated a skywalk and upgraded Parvati Bhavan at the shrine atop Trikuta hills in J&K’s Reasi district.
The President, who is on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, was accompanied by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on the visit to the shrine.
The 200-metre skywalk will make the journey of pilgrims smooth as it will separate the path taken by them to the Bhawan and while returning after visiting the shrine.
The decision to extend the skywalk was taken after a stampede earlier this year, which left 12 people dead and 16 injured near Gate No. 3 at Vaishno Devi Bhawan.The skywalk project was proposed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in a bid to decongest the Vaishno Devi Bhawan.
Completed at a cost of 9.89 crore, the skywalk stands 20 feet above the surface and will help reduce the chaos between Manokama Bhawan and Gate Number 3.
Parvati Bhawan has been fully overhauled at a cost of around Rs 15 crore and is a free-of-cost facility for the pilgrims. It has been linked with the skywalk to ensure that pilgrims proceed directly to the shrine after depositing their luggage. It has facilities of 1,500 lockers that cater to 10,000 to 15,000 pilgrims every day.
