Jammu and Kashmir: Anti-ropeway project agitation intensifies

Shopkeepers sit on hunger strike during protest in Katra. Pic/PTI

Katra, the base camp for the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage in Jammu and Kashmir, remained shut for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday in protest against a proposed ropeway project in the Trikuta hills, with BJP MLA Baldev Raj Sharma threatening to sit on a hunger strike if those detained are not released within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, five men continue to sit on a hunger strike, demanding the release of those detained by police during earlier demonstrations in the holy town. The bandh, which began on Wednesday, has disrupted normal life in the busy town of Katra, where thousands of pilgrims arrive daily to pay obeisance at the cave shrine of Vaishno Devi. The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board announced plans last month to install a ropeway.

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