Devotees frustrated with VVIP culture of Vaishno Devi Ji temples under Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board

Shrine Board secretly providing transport facilities to the families of VIPs and VVIPs upto Bhawan via new Tarakot track
All facilities like Helicopter, Electric Cars are being availed by approachable persons
GY CORRESPONDENT
Katra, Aug 17
It has come to fore from the pilgrims in Katra town and it is found that Shrine Board’s Officers are entertaining references of high offices for VIP darshans and other facilities like helicopter, rooms, dormitories and electric car facilities and all such facilities are provided to the guest and relatives of influencial persons. Shrine Board’s must learn lesson from the Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami who announced abolishing the long-standing practice of making special arrangements for the Ministers, Bureaucrats and other VIPs at the Char Dham shrines. He said, “We are abolishing the system of VIP Darshan at Char Dhams. There will be no separate categories or VIP system for having darshans at Char Dham anymore. We have made it the same for everyone”.
Shrine Board has full-fledged protocol office dedicated for entertaining guest of Ministers, Judiciary, Raj Bhawan, Journalists and all facilities are occupied by the guests and relatives of these Agencies. There is lot of inconvenience to the general devotees who come from different parts of the countries to pay obeisance before Holy Vaishno Devi Ji.Different government departments officials arranging heli and darshan facilities to those devotees who all are not falling under the category of VVIP. It is worthwhile to mention here that some officers of Shrine Board secretly provide transport facilities through special Ambulances to families of influential persons upto Bhawan flouting all regulations in the air.
Present day, different kinds of officers of the district administration openly ply and carry their senior officer on official vehicles along with guests upto Bhawan or Adhkuwari without seeking permission from the Board. Earlier Board’s Administration was strict enough and never allowed anyone to go beyond Tarakote with their official vehicles. In conversation with drivers of private vehicles plying on the Katra-Bhavan non-motorable track told that they always face hardship and trouble and heavy fines imposed to them if they don’t carry the guest of officers deputed at Katra and Bhawan and guest of higher officials of Shrine Board. Driver further expressed that in case they carry helpless or disabled person or own mother/sister then they are fined between t ? 10000 to ? 20000 by the security staff of Shrine Board. They are forced to carry these VIP guests and many more unknown officers of Katra administration .
Drivers of private vehicles further told that in the midway wherever check post of CRPF/JKP on the Track JKP/CRPF staff also threatens them to face dire consequences if they won’t allow their guest to sit. Drivers of private vehicles further told that on the other hand, the drivers of the shrine board openly carry the guest of donors on the instructions from the central office and also allow one or two guest at their own and take hefty amount from the such guests, no one question them and it is also true that many wealthy people frequently visit Vaishnodevi pays monthly amount to all drivers of the board, to the staff store and to the transport department of Shrine Board.
May be CEO of the Board is not aware of wrongdoings of officials and government officials of various offices in Katra who are acting like touts and are causing huge damage to the sentiments of devotees. Devotees who have references of PMO, Central Ministries, IAS, IPS or judiciary or guest of five-star hotels or wealthy devotees have nexus with officers of the Board or who offers heavy gifts to the board officials are given facilities upto the Darbars of Mata Rani and rest devotees are pushed and pulled right from Katra to cave.
The RTO, Reasi is responsible for supervising such operation on the Track and taking into account other topographical conditions of the Track under the Motor Vehicles Act but he has totally closed eyes on such issues.There is no control mechanism on transportation charges of Horses and mules which are hitting the roof and devotees undertaking Yatra have been facing hardships. The horse or mule and Palki service are transporting devotees are charging exorbitant rates. They are openly charging upto Rs. 5000 to 6000 for up-down Yatra from the pilgrims and no one listen complaints of the pilgrims due to lack of enforcement and police personnel at the Horse stand. However while interacting with devotee who was from south India further said that men in Khaki only guides to file online complainant and doesn’t help at all.
Nowadays Shrine Board’s officers at Bhawan have made the Shrine of Vaishnodevi ji a place for discrimination and not a sacred mandir of Vaishnodevi ji there is not too much difference between the erstwhile Baaridar system and present-day administrative control of the shrine board both trusts are opposite sides of same coins. Only person can perform good darshan at the sanctum sanctorum for few seconds if he has reference of Police staff or guest of influential people or he must be rich or Lala. Yateries of poor strata are neglected everywhere in the Shrine Board during entire yatra.Least attention of the authorities of the Shrine Board towards pilgrimage and weak temple governance are unwilling to assume their roles and responsibilities towards general Yatries and further preventing them from basic facilities such as free accommodation or temporary shelter during these rainy days, These “administrative failures of Shrine Board ” lead to broader failures in yatra management.
Top management of the Shrine Board must work as change agents to manage the change process strategically including both internal and external aspects of the failures in the yatra management facilities and recognition of problems for the betterment of the Organization in terms of employees productivity to reduce costs and manage human resources wasted through bogus elderly substitutes. However, during general feedback from the lower staff about the management of the Board, the staff appreciated the honesty and principles of the present CEO and said he might be unaware of such irregularities and said the long overstay of officers in the Board is harmful to the management of the Board because they all work with the mindset of state government’s Block Development Officers just for profit and gain whether it is procurement or execution of work and not with spiritual approach and dedications towards devotees.
In the recent judgment of the Madras High Court said people were “frustrated” with the VIP culture, especially in temples, and issued a slew of directions regarding special darshan at a well-known shrine in Tamil Nadu.VIP entry must be restricted only to themselves and their family members, but not the relatives, Justice S M Subramaniam said while hearing a petition regarding the famous Arulmigu Subramania Swamy Temple at Tiruchendur in Tuticorin district. The temple administration was duty bound to ensure VIP darshan is provided without causing any inconvenience to the public darshan. The list of VIPs is already notified by the Government of Tamil Nadu and the said list of VIPs must be maintained by the temple administration, the court said.
“It is made clear that special entry to VIPs should not result in infringement of the right of equality to the devotee/general public waiting for darshan. VIP entry must be restricted only to the VIPs and to their family members, but not the relatives,” the judge noted.Recently CJI in connection with explanation called from Railway Officials at the instance of one of the judges of the Allahabad High Court over the ‘inconvenience’ caused to him during a train journey, the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has written a letter to all Chief Justices of High Court and has also shown displeasure and written with an earnest request to share his concerns with all colleagues across the High Court. Self-reflection and counselling within the judiciary is necessary. Protocol facilities which are made available to Judges should not be used in a manner that is liable to result in inconvenience to others or to bring public criticism of the judiciary,” .