Former J&K Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said that “pilgrimages should not be converted into places of tourism” and that “any attempt to create a project of cable car to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi cave Sanjichhat’s Tarakote Marg shrine would deprive thousands of workers of their jobs.”

She asked Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to reconsider the decision which, she said, “if implemented, would seriously affect thousands of workers, who depend on the pilgrimage for their livelihood.”

According to an estimate, more than 12,000 owners of ponywallas, pithuwallas and palanquins earn their living by transporting pilgrims to Bhawan and returning them to Katra.

Mehbooba also demanded immediate withdrawal of the FIR against the anti-cable car protesters following the recent violence in Katra town.

On November 18, the Board of Trustees of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine announced the implementation of the much-awaited cable car project to facilitate safer and faster travel for pilgrims.

“The ropeway will create big problems for those who depend on the pilgrimage, like traders and labourers, who earn their livelihood through the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage. The government should think about it. It is a pilgrimage and it should be treated as a pilgrimage and not as a place of tourism. I appeal to LG Manoj Sinha to reconsider his decision. For tourism, there are many areas in J&K,” she told the media during her visit to Katra to meet the protesters, including Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Jamwal.

“Shri Mata Vaishno Devi is a place of reverence where devotees come with pure heart and complete faith to seek the blessings of the Mata. The construction of the cable car will not only bypass three important places of worship en route to the shrine via a traditional route, but also deprive thousands of residents of their livelihoods,” she said.

“J&K is already grappling with the highest unemployment rate in the country as government jobs are nowhere and private investments are not coming in and this decision puts thousands of workers out of work,” she said. added.

“Privatization requires electricity. Although Jammu and Kashmir generates electricity, it is provided free of charge to some states, and we have nothing for ourselves. People who earn their living by working with the blessing of Mata will lose this opportunity after the cable car is built,” she said.

“The lieutenant governor should reconsider the decision and consider the livelihood of stakeholders before starting work on the cable car, which can be moved elsewhere but not here,” she said.

On November 25, Katra SHO Chaman Gorkha was injured and the windshield of a CRPF truck was damaged as protests against the Vaishno Devi ropeway project turned violent in Katra.