Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, who is the Chairman of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, today released 20-gram Silver Souvenir coin (999 fineness) ahead of the “Sharad Navratras and Diwali” for millions of devotees worldwide during the 68th meeting of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board here at the Raj Bhavan.
Prior to the release of 20-gram Silver Souvenir coin today, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) had developed 2g, 5g & 10g Gold and Silver coins of guaranteed purity carrying an inscription of the idol of goddess Mata Vaishno Devi Ji. The rates of the coins depend on the denomination chosen and the prevailing gold/silver rates. These coins are available at souvenir shops at Bhawan, Jammu Airport, Katra and Vaishnavi Dham Jammu.
In addition, the Lt Governor also e-inaugurated a digital library established at SGC Katra with the aim to ease out the difficulty in finding out information from voluminous books.
The meeting was attended by the Board Members – H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar; Dr. Ashok Bhan; Justice (Retd) Permod Kohli; Sh. K. K. Sharma; Maj. Gen. (Retd) Shiv Kumar Sharma; Sh. K. B. Kachru and Sh. Vijay Dhar in person and through virtual mode.
The Lieutenant Governor, while chairing the meeting of the Shrine Board, reviewed pilgrim-centric infrastructural facilities put in place by the Board.
He emphasised the need for extending the best possible facilities for the visiting pilgrims in sync with the emerging requirements with special focus on cleanliness and hygiene.
To begin with, the Board reviewed the Yatra statistics of the year and discussed various measures which may be taken to further increase the yatra which steeply declined due to Covid-19 resurgence.
A brief appraisal of the SMVDNS Hospital, SMVD Nursing College, SMVD Gurukul and SMVD Sports Complex was also given in the meeting.
While extensively reviewing the status of the ongoing mega projects for the convenience of the pilgrims, the Board directed the CEO for the completion of Durga Bhawan within a period of 12 months, that is, by August 2022.
The Board also reviewed the status of the underground cabling project, from Katra to Bhawan and the surrounding areas, which already stands allotted to M/s. JSP, a Ghaziabad-based company by the PDD of J&K Government. This high utility project will have SCADA compliance-based monitoring system of the electric network. With the implementation of this project, the existing LT / HT overhead electricity lines will be replaced by Underground Cabling to ensure uninterrupted power supply along the track and in the Bhawan area.