Ropeway project: Shutdown in Jammu & Kashmir’s Katra enters second day; protestors launch hunger strike

Protest in Katra against ropeway project enters second day, impacting Vaishno Devi pilgrimage; hunger strike continues.

A shutdown in Katra, the base camp for the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage in Jammu and Kashmir, against a proposed ropeway project entered its second day on Thursday (December 26, 2024), with the protesters sitting on a hunger strike to press for the release of those detained by police the day before.

The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti has called for a 72-hour shutdown, which commenced on Wednesday (December 25, 2024), announcing that all activities in Katra would remain suspended during the bandh.

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"The bandh will continue until the government shelves the ropeway project. It is an assault on the livelihoods of most Katra residents, who are dependent on the pilgrimage economy," a samiti spokesperson said.

Last month, the board decided to install the ropeway to facilitate access to the temple for senior citizens, children and others who find it difficult to climb the 13-km-long track to the cave shrine.

The samiti which claims to represent shopkeepers, pony operators and palanquin owners, claimed that the ropeway would destroy the livelihoods of local business owners and demanded that the project be scrapped.

For the second consecutive day on Thursday (December 26, 2024), all shops, restaurants and business establishments remained closed and traffic was off the roads in the holy town. The bandh has affected normal life in Katra.