Srinagar: Union Home Minister, Amit Shah Monday congratulated Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), J&K Police, and the J&K administration on the successful completion of the Kheer Bhawani Mela.
“The Kheer Bhawani Mela held on Jyeshtha Ashtami in Kashmir occupies a sacred place in the spiritual realm of the Kashmiri Pandit sisters & brothers. More than 25000 devotees attended the Mela. I congratulate LG Shri @manojsinha_ , CAPFs, J&K Police and the local administration on the successful completion of the Kheer Bhawani Mela. May the divine grace of Maa Kheer Bhawani always be with us,” Shah tweeted.
The Union Home Minister attached four photographs of devotees attending the mela with his tweet.
Thousands of Kashmiri Pandits on Sunday thronged the Kheer Bhawani temple in Tulmulla area of Ganderbal on the occasion of Mela Kheer Bhawani, which was celebrated with religious fervour.
To ensure a peaceful festival, the government, particularly the district administration, had made all the arrangements including accommodation, food, sanitation, and elaborate security arrangements.
Though away from their homes and roots in Kashmir for the past three decades, the annual Kheer Bhawani Mela every year rekindles a new hope among the displaced Kashmiri Pandits of their return to their ancestral land.
Nestled in the shade of mammoth Chinar trees in Tulmulla village in Ganderbal district, the temple witnessed massive crowds of devotees, most of them displaced Kashmiri Pandits, who had come from various parts of Jammu and Kashmir and outside.
Thousands of devotees joined the annual festival with religious fervour and festivity at the Kheer Bhawani temple here.
The entire route from Ganderbal to the Kheer Bhawani temple wore a festive look as vehicles carrying the yatris in colorful dresses converged in long rows at the temple.
Singing hymns and chanting slogans, the devotees made it to the Kheer Bhawani temple.
Walking barefoot, the devotees carried rose petals and offered tribute to the goddess as men took a dip in the stream close to the shrine. Travelling all the way from Jammu and other parts of the country where they have settled since their mass migration, the atmosphere in Sunday’s congregation created nostalgia about the times when Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims lived side by side across the length and breadth in Kashmir.