KATRA, Aug 27: Scores of locals today staged a strong protest against the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board for allowing the pilgrimage to continue despite Government warnings of possible landslides and cloudbursts in the region.
The protesters raised slogans against Shrine Board demanding accountability and immediate corrective measures to prevent further tragedies. They alleged that negligence and commercialization by the Shrine Board had put the lives of pilgrims at risk.
Congress leader Karan Deep Singh, who joined the protest, said: “This commercialization mindset of the Shrine Board has already cost more than 35 lives. We demand registration of an FIR against the Shrine Board for wilfully risking and killing pilgrims. Strict action must be taken, and commercialization of Hindu holy places should be stopped immediately.”
Local leader Sohan Chand also blamed the Shrine Board for large-scale deforestation and unscientific works on the Trikuta Hills. “The mountains are being made hollow. The Shrine Board has not learnt any lesson from the recent Chashoti cloudburst,” he said.
