Pilgrims going to the Himalayan shrine of Vaishno Devi near Jammu and Kashmir’s Katra town are set to get a new ride from Bhawan. The state’s governor Satya Pal Malik on Monday inaugurated a ropeway service from Bhawan (main shrine) to Bhairon Ghati. It will take devotees just three minutes via this newly installed cable cars in ropeway to reach Bhairon Ghati from Vaishno Devi. There will be two cable cars, one each at both ends. It will cost devotees just Rs 100 per person to avail the service.
The work for this ropeway started in 2013. The distance between Bhawan and Bhairon Ghati is 1.5 km but the climb is very steep and tedious. During tougher weather and snowfall, it is almost impossible to reach the Ghati and only 40-50 per cent of the pilgrim visit Ghati during that period. The ropeway will be extremely helpful for elderly and specially abled.
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The Vaishno Devi shrine is situated in a cave on Trikuta hill at an altitude of 5200 ft. The pilgrims undertake a trek from base camp at Katra situated some 12 km from the cave. The main deity in the cave are in the form of three natural rock formations called the Pindis. Unlike other shrines, there are no idols or statues inside the holy cave.