On the event of Jyestha Ashtami, individuals of Kashmiri Pandit neighborhood gathered and provided prayers at Mata Kheer Bhavani temple situated at Janipur in Jammu district on Friday.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, not many individuals took half within the festivities.
“Only 20-25 people have been allowed to offer prayers at a time in this temple of Mata Kheer Bhavani in Janipur. We pray to them to drive away the pandemic. In our prayers, we have also asked to return to our homeland in Kashmir,” stated Kashmir Pandit Virinder Raina.
The annual competition of “Jyestha Ashtami” is a revered day for Kashmiri Pandits. On today lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits used to go to the temple devoted to Goddess Kheer Bhavani situated in Tulmulla village close to Srinagar. However, after migrating from Kashmir in 1990, for a few years he stated he couldn’t return.
For the previous few years, individuals of Jammu go to the temple at Tulmulla in Ganderbal and take part within the annual Kheer Bhavani truthful held within the temple premises. This time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, devotees couldn’t journey to Kashmir on the auspicious day and provided prayers on the temple in Janipur, which is a duplicate of the temple in Kashmir.
Last 12 months too, members of the expatriate Kashmiri Pandit neighborhood stated they may not supply prayers on the Kashmir temple.
Rohit Kaul, a sevak (activist) of the temple stated, “We pray that the pandemic ends on the earliest and we will get again to regular life. At least 12,000-13,000 individuals worshiped on this temple earlier than the pandemic. Unfortunately, for the final one to two years, nobody was even allowed to have a good time the competition or go to a temple in Kashmir. Due to the COVID-19 protocol, the langar (free meals service) has been cancelled. People can worship solely within the temple.
“It is always in our prayers to return to our homeland,” he stated.
Dr Agnisekhar, a devotee of the temple, stated, “If this isn’t the time, subsequent time we are going to have a good time Ashtami in Kashmir. We will return to our homeland and keep there on our calls for.
Jammu and Kashmir recorded 656 new circumstances, 1,426 cured and 9 deaths in 24 hours on Thursday. According to the media bulletin on COVID-19, the variety of lively circumstances within the union territory is 10,602.
