New Delhi: The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) has withdrawn the recently introduced paid darshan scheme on Thursday and decided to scrap all modes of out of queue darshan at the holy shrine.
The shrine board's 'tatkal' darshan scheme had raised a howl of protests organised by many local organisations as well as political parties.
The shrine board had decided to allow quick darshan in return for special passes costing between 200-1000 rupees. The shrine board was basically following a scheme that's already in operation in other temples, including at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. But devotees protested saying everyone is equal before God.
The announcement to scrap the paid darshan was made after interacting with the committee set up to examine the issue.
J&K Governor and the Chairman of SMVDSB Lt. General (retd) S K Sinha said the system had been introduced on an experimental basis.
However, respecting the popular demand, it has been decided to dispense with all sorts of priorities including the paid ones, he added.
He also said the board would soon devise a mechanism to provide some sort of darshan facility for the staff of the shrine board, members of the security forces and some special categories. But this will be minimal.
He also added that no blank slips will be issued as was being done previously, which had led to black marketing and corruption.
After discussing the problems faced by the devotees due to the transport strike all over the state, Sinha asked the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the board Arun Kumar and Additional CEO Manoj Dwiwedi to ensure free accomodation for stranded pilgrims at Katra besides free accomodation at Trikuta Bhavan till normalcy is restored.
He also asked the CEO to work out a permanent arrangement for such contingencies so that poor pilgrims don't suffer.
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