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Around 9,000 pilgrims on Saturday departed in nearly 200 buses from Nagrota in Jammu for the annual Mata Kheer Bhawani Mela and other yatras to Tikker in Kupwara, Logripora in Anantnag, Devsar and Manzgam in Kulgam districts.
The administration has put in place elaborate security and logistical arrangements to ensure the smooth and hassle-free transit of devotees to their respective destinations. Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner Arvind Karwani said that multiple agencies, including the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), Jammu and Kashmir Police, and the Army, were working in coordination to ensure the safety of pilgrims throughout the journey. "We tried to make security arrangements better than the previous year. The Yatra is leaving today, and until the pilgrims reach their destinations safely, everyone, including the CAPF, the J&K Police, and the Army, is working together to ensure this is a great arrangement, deploying every standard gadget and all the required forces," Karwani told ANI. Meanwhile, BJP MLA Devyani Rana flagged off devotees from the old toll post in Nagrota, located at the foothills of the Kol Kandoli Mata Temple, and extended her best wishes to the pilgrims. "We are sending people off for darshan from the Old toll post in Nagrota, which is at the foot of the Kol Kandoli Mata Temple. I hope that all the devotees leaving from here have a successful and pleasant journey," Rana told ANI. She further highlighted the arrangements made for devotees through a community service initiative. "It is fortunate that today, through the 'Jeeyo Geeta Sansthanam', with the blessings of our revered Gyan Ji Maharaj, a grand langar is being organised here. Through this, food and drink arrangements have been made for all the devotees leaving today. I hope that our devotees will begin their journey this morning with an open mind and open heart," she said. The Mata Kheer Bhawani annual mela takes place at the famous Ragnya Devi temple in the village Tulmulla, 25 kilometres off Srinagar. 'Kheer', a milk and rice pudding, is offered to propitiate the goddess. Kheer Bhawani is sometimes translated as 'Milk Goddess'. The worship of Kheer Bhawani is universal among the Hindus of Kashmir; most of them worship her as their protective patron deity, Kuladevi. (ANI)
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