Srinagar: Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits on Sunday paid obeisance at the famous Ragnya Devi temple in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir and held the annual Kheer Bhawani Mela. Located in the shade of huge poplar trees in the central Kashmir district, the famous temple witnessed a huge influx of devotees, mostly Kashmiri Pandits who had come here from many parts of the country.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also joined the Kashmiri Pandits at the Kheer Bhawani fair. In fact, this is because Mehbooba has also been accused of promoting terrorism in the Valley and turning her back on the suffering of Kashmiri Pandits, as well as supporting Article 370, which is considered to be the root of terrorism. She had even said that if Article 370 is removed, there will be no one to raise the tricolor in Kashmir. However, now perhaps for the first time after the removal of 370, former CM Mehbooba Mufti has attended the fair of Maa Kheer Bhawani, the kuldevi of Kashmiri Pandits.  

Devotees walked barefoot, carrying rose petals and paying homage to Maa Bhavani, while men took a dip in the stream near the temple. Devotees were seen jostling with each other to approach the main temple complex, during which bhajans were heard in the temple premises and devotees saluted the goddess by offering milk and kheer (rice kheer) inside the premises.

The fair, a symbol of communal harmony, passed off peacefully and the administration had also made elaborate arrangements, including security, for the devotees. Gudi Zutshi, a devotee from Jammu, has said that her 'puja' is incomplete without visiting the temple on the occasion of the annual fair organized on the occasion of her mother's birthday. Mufti also visited the temple on the occasion. Mehbooba said she wished for the dignified return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley. "I have come here to welcome our Kashmiri Pandit brothers from Jammu and other places. We have come here to pray for the dignified return of these people, so that once again Hindus and Muslims can live together in harmony in Jammu and Kashmir."

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