Leaders hail Kheer Bhawani mela gathering, seek Pandits' return to Valley

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

A large number of Hindu devotees, mostly Kashmiri Pandits, converged at Tulmulla to take part in prayers and celebrations during the annual fair at the Mata Kheer Bhawani temple in central Kashmir's Ganderbal on Tuesday. Owing to the fear perception after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the footfall of people was less than the past few years. Leaders from different parties hailed the gathering and also called for return of Pandits to the Valley.
Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, who participated in the prayers, said this was the biggest gathering in Kashmir at any place since the Pahalgam attack on April 22. As many as 26 people, including 25 tourists, were killed in a terror attack in Pahalgam in south Kashmir in April, triggering the flight of thousands of tourists out of the Valley.
Sinha said the preparations for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra were also complete. 'Amarnath yatra preparations have been completed from security perspectives as well. I request the devotees to come (in good numbers),' he said.
Surrounded by Chinar trees, the Kheer Bhawani temple houses Hindu Goddess Ragnya Devi at Tulmulla village, about 27 km from Srinagar, and welcomes the biggest Hindu festival to be celebrated in the Kashmir Valley second only to the Amarnath yatra.
A devotee from Srinagar, Ayush said the mela was affected owing to the threat perception after the Pahalgam attack. 'This time the number of participants are one-third of what used to come,' he said. Last year, the officials had said that 30,000 pilgrims visited while in 2023, 33,000 pilgrims had participated in the mela.
The atmosphere was also reflective of the communal harmony owing to the presence of a number of local Muslims in and outside the Hindu shrine.
Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah visited the shrine. 'We will continue to live in this brotherhood. We met our brothers and sisters and spread a message of happiness,' Farooq Abdullah said. 'Pandits' presence at the Mela Kheer Bhawani in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack is a befitting reply to perpetrators,' Farooq said.
Mehbooba Mufti advocated for the return of Kashmir Pandits, urging for the start of political process with Pandits playing their role. 'J&K is incomplete without them,' she said.
BJP general secretary Ashok Kaul said, 'It felt good seeing many people here. After the Pahalgam attack, there was a pause and people coming here filled that gap,' he said.
J&K Congress chief Tariq Karra also visited the shrine and said that the people coming for the mela was a perfect answer to Pahalgam attackers. Karra said return of Kashmiri Pandits can't happen by just cosmetic measures. 'We need to politically empower them. We want their seats to be reserved for contesting the assembly elections,' he said.
Local Kashmiri Muslims took care of the Kheer Bhawani shrine after the exodus of a majority of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley during the first wave of militancy in early 1990s. The temple has attracted more devotees since 2008, as the militancy waned.