By Eff Ahmed,NAK
Jammu : The mainstay of state economy is tourism but ancient pilgrimages like Kailash Yatra, Machail Yatra and Reushira Devi Yatra in mountainous Bhaderwah and Kishtwar tell a tale of willful neglect.
Sources told News Agency of Kashmir that those at the helm of affairs have not done enough to develop these places of tourist pilgrimages with required infrastructure to attract pilgrims.
Bhaderwah and Kishtwar are abundant with natural beauty but forget developing its tourist resorts the government has not developed pilgrimages thronged every year by pilgrims.
Kablash Kund Yatra, popularly known as Kailash Yatra starts from a temple of Vasuki Nag in Gatha, three kilometers away from Bhaderwah.
Just 12 kilometers away from Bhaderwah, Kablash Kund or Kailash Lake, is a gift of nature.
On an area of over two square kilometers the lake is situated on a height of approximately 14,500 feet from sea level. Before reaching Kailash Lake, pilgrims stay at Haiyen for a night.
The vast lake at the top of mountains touches tehsil Billawar on the one side and Bani and Sarthal areas on the other.
However, pilgrims have to tread a distance of 15 kilometer from Gatha to reach the Kailash Lake.
There is another route to the lake from Seouz Dhar, which is just one kilometer away from the lake but pilgrims prefer traditional track from Gatha to Haiyen and finally reach the lake to offer obeisance to Vasuki Naag.
Just six kilometers away from sojourn point Haiyen to Kailash Lake, again is charisma of nature as entire Sunbain area, also known as Aashapatti amazingly remains snow bound through out the year.
Locked by mountains the bowl like area remains buried under snow through out the year with glaciers.
Both Seoz Dhar and Sunbain present breathtaking sights of natural beauty and have the potential of being developed into tourist resorts.
Sources told NAK that there is no motorable road to reach Sunbain and Seouz Dhar resulting into under-development of the mountain-locked area.
In Machail Yatra of deity Chandi Devi, earlier a handful of devotees used to visit the ancient temple from Paddar unless it gained popularity during 1968.
Machail is a two-day journey from Atholi (Paddar) via Gulabgarh with a night halt at Chashoti. Trekkers, however, can continue their journey ahead of Machail with a night halt at Rujwass of Zanskar, Paddam and Kargil.
Situated 85 kilometers away from Kishtwar, devotees have to reach Paddar first by bus and from Paddar they have to tread the 15-kilometer stretch to reach Machail.From Bhaderwah, sources told NAK, devotees have to cover 30 kilometers up to Pul Doda, from where they have to travel further to Kishtwar covering a distance of 60 kilometers and subsequently from Kishtwar another distance of 85 kilometers to reach Paddar.
However, in absence of road devotees tread 15-kilometer stretch on foot from Paddar to Machail.
According to rough estimate, every year over ten thousand devotees participate in the pilgrimage.
Another pilgrimage of Reushira Devi in Bhaderwah is also an annual feature held during Navratras and particularly on Ashtami, pilgrims throng the Temple in large numbers to pay obeisance to Sheetla Mata.
Reushira is a majestic peak with a height of 11,000 feet beset with the ancient shrine of deity Sheetla Mata, which is believed to be over 200 years old.
However, again road has been laid up to Jai that too after an army cantonment stared coming up in the area around two years back.
Sources told NAK that if Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board takes over all the three pilgrimages, it would not only improve entire scenario attracting more pilgrims but would also improve economy of the otherwise remote areas.