In Jammu and Kashmir, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) is all set to complete three major projects at the Bhawan which will be inaugurated during the upcoming Navratras in October. Akashvani Correspondent reports that these projects include Skywalk, Parvati Bhawan with 1500 lockers and washrooms and the renovated Atka Aarti area with a new Gate. 

The Skywalk constructed at the cost of 15.5 crore rupees will completely bifurcate entry and exit of the pilgrims at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan and will be a major “crowd control measure” and will be thrown open for the pilgrims by during the upcoming nine-day Navratras starting from the 15th of October. 

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who is also Chairman of the Shrine Board, is likely to inaugurate new facilities at the Bhawan for the pilgrims. The construction work of state-of-art skywalk flyover equipped with waiting halls, resting rooms, first-of-its-kind wooden flooring and two emergency exits, seating arrangements, LED screens and resting rooms is in the last leg of its completion. The overcrowding will be prevented during huge rush because the Skywalk flyover will be the entry point but the old traditional path will remain the exit point. The Skywalk will also have an artificial cave at the entrance to give a feel of a natural cave to the devotees.