The National Green Tribunal on Monday capped the number of devotees that can visit the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir at 50,000 per day, PTI reported. The panel also ordered a stop to all construction activities at the temple.
Once the 50,000 limit is reached, devotees will be stopped either in Ardhkuwari or in Katra town, NDTV reported.
A new path to the shrine for pedestrians and battery-operated car services will be unveiled on November 24, the tribunal said in its order.
Last year, the National Green Tribunal told the chief executive officer of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, which runs the Vaishnodevi shrine, to submit a report on municipal solid waste generated by devotees and sewage treatment plants installed at the complex. The panel was acting on a plea that said pilgrims and the horses, mules and ponies used to ferry them generate a large amount of untreated waste, which is then directly disposed in the Banganga river.
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