Protestors demanding the scrapping of the 12-km ropeway project turned violent clashing with security forces personnel and indulging in stone pelting on Monday at Katra.

The ropeway project is meant to carry pilgrims to the mountain cave shrine from the base town.

The windshield of a CRPF vehicle was also smashed in the stone pelting.

Shopkeepers joined the protest, spearheaded by pony and palanquin owners most of whom carry elderly pilgrims to the shrine, against the construction of the ropeway claiming that it would render them jobless.

A march took an ugly turn when the protestors clashed with police at the Katra base camp in Jammu’s Reasi district. They grappled with a policeman who was injured in the ensuing melee.

They have gone on strike since 22 November against the move of the Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) to build the Rs 250-crore ropeway between Tarakote Marg and Sanji Chhat along the 12-kilometre route.

The police said the situation escalated this morning and talks were underway to defuse the situation.

The locals have been complaining that the project would negatively impact the environment and their livelihoods.

Reasi’s senior superintendent of police Paramvir Singh said that the protest had been peaceful for the past three days but today some protesters pelted stones at the security forces. “We are trying to handle the situation, and hopefully, normalcy will be restored soon,” he assured.

The shopkeepers and labourers, on Sunday, took out a protest rally on the third day of their strike and held a sit-in outside the office of the sub-divisional magistrate and Shalimar Park in Katra, the base camp for pilgrims visiting the shrine.

“The 72-hour strike has been extended by another 24 hours. We will meet again and announce our future course of action,” a member of the joint committee of shopkeepers and pony and palanquin owners had said.

While the businesses located at the base camp of Katra remained operational, shops lining up along the pilgrimage route from Ban Ganga to Charan Paduka observed a shutdown. However, the suspension of pony and palanquin services is causing hardships for the pilgrims, especially the elderly and differently-abled, to continue their sacred journey.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, also chairman of the SMVDSB, assured the protestors of their employment. He said that the committee headed by the Divisional Commissioner has been deliberating on the ropeway project and the rehabilitation of the locals.

The LG emphasised that the genuine concerns of the locals would be considered while the development of the region would not be ignored.