Jammu & Kashmir: Soon, RFID-Based Tracking To Ensure Pilgrims' Safety At Vaishno Devi Shrine

New Delhi: In a bid to keep a check on the number of devotees and ensure necessary measures in case of emergencies, a Radio Frequency Identity card (RFID) will soon come into effect for pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. According to a report by news agency PTI, work on ‘Durga Bahwan’ that can house around 2,000 pilgrims have also been expedited to avert congestion at the temple premises.    

It is to be noted that the RFID card comes in the wake of a stampede on New Year's Day, killing 12 people and injuring 16 others.

After the first such tragedy in the shrine, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha had announced a slew of measures to ensure the safety of the devotees, including providing full online registration.

Sinha instructed for physical and systematic improvements, wherever needed, after critical examination, augmentation of infrastructure, decongestion of the track, appropriate use of technology and introduction of RFID tracking.

Notably, RFID is based on a wireless technology for tracking through radio waves. The tags carry encrypted information, serial numbers and short descriptions.

Last year, the yatra saw a footfall of over 55.77 lakh as compared to 17 lakh the previous year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The National Green Tribunal had put a cap of 50,000 pilgrims per day in the light of the Covid situation.

From 13.95 lakh in 1986, when the shrine board took over the affairs of the shrine, there has been a steady rise in footfall, with the all-time high at 1.04 crore in 2012 against 1.01 crore in its preceding year.

However, only 17 lakh pilgrims, the lowest in three decades, visited the shrine in 2020 when it remained closed for five months due to the pandemic and reopened on August 16, 2020.