KATRA

Darshan shastra

Katra, which is a big draw for Vaishnodevi devotees, is now dotted with branded retail outlets and hospitality majors. Namrata Kohli reports

Planning a trip to Vaishnodevi Be ready for some newage interventions along the way. For starters, tickets are available online (jaimatavaishnodevi .com) to simplify the tedious process of coming to Katra and standing in unending serpentine queues, making payments and getting the parchi , your passport to darshan of the divine deity, now a matter of a mouse click. Secondly, be ready to be greeted by branded outlets at the foot of the shrine Katra. Katra, the downhill town on way up to Vaishnodevi shrine, which sees religious tourists thronging in large numbers round the year, is 46 km away from Jammu, and is seeing some heightened real estate activity.
There are already three Cafi Coffee Day outlets, of which one is between Balganga and Adhkawari (which is halfway up the Vaishnodevi mandir), the second one at Adhkawari, and the third one at Katra main market. While Baskin Robbins already has a presence here, Sagar Ratna is opening an outlet at Hotel Subhash International. The place has also been inundated with enquiries from other branded retailers such as Dominoes and Cumsun group. According to Anil Sharma, general manager of Hotel Subhash International , All these outlets bring their own equipment, systems, processes and even manpower. They are surely adding value to the place and are in turn doing brisk business. Landowners here lease out premises to these retailers and they operate as tenants paying a monthly rental ranging from approximately Rs 100-150 /sq ft/month. Shops, showrooms, hotels , and guesthouses are prime drivers of real estate in Katra. The town of Katra comprises four major roads, namely, Main Market, which is the prime commercial space, Balganga road, Jammu road, and Kashmir road. The real estate metric used here is kanal , which is equivalent to 3,600 sq ft. While the main market is choked and with no space left, Jammu road is the next prime location where the values prevailing are anything between Rs 80 lakh and Rs 1 crore per kanal. If one goes down further on Kashmir road, a lot of space is available and transactions happen even at Rs 20-25 lakh per kanal. With over 275 guest houses plus hotels, the place so far had only 20 reasonable hotels, ones which could qualify to be of the 3-star category, with average room tariff at around Rs 1,500 per day. However, three plush hotels have come up in Katra - White Orchid, K C resorts, and Country Inn, whose facilities include a swimming pool, spa, and a helipad for darshan. In residential real estate, a lot of land is available untapped and people currently stay in bungalows of minimum size of 1 kanal or 3,600 sq ft costing approximately Rs 10 lakh.
Apartments are currently not available but there is immense scope for these as well. According to a local who spoke on condition of anonymity, Most of the businessmen have tied up with locals here and set up their projects, whether it is in hospitality, or retail sector . Unfortunately, many locals look at investors as a threat and are not open to entering into partnership with an outsider , and if they do, they hold a heavy premium. But once they are here, there is no looking back and they do brisk business . However, the biggest challenge is to manage a local partner. Land is cheaper than in metros and opportunities are vast and not harnessed.
On the infrastructure front, a stadium is being planned at the Katra bus stand for conducting sports events. A university called Mata Vaishno University is coming up 8 km away and a huge cancer hospital project is in the pipeline. But the biggest infrastructure project is that of the railway station, which will take a year to take off. According to shopkeeper Nahir, The minute that project takes off, the economy of Katra will be on a super fast track and the economy of Jammu will be affected as pilgrims will all come directly to Katra, instead of via Jammu.