Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 28: The 9th Annual Maha Shivratri-cum-Gramin Mela at the historic ancient Khooneshwar Aapshambhu Shiv temple witnessed thousands of devotees thronging from various parts of the State to pay obeisance and to participate in the mega event.
The Mela is a regular feature coinciding with the auspicious Maha Shivratri.
The Mela was organized by Destitute And Handicapped Welfare Association (DAHWA) in conjunction with Mela Committee and District Administration, Udhampur. CR, Udhampur, N.S.Jamwal, was the chief guest on the occasion.
To mark the occasion a mega cultural event was organized by the State Information Department and Academy of Art, Culture and Languages. Prominent artists Vijay Kumar and party and Shiv Lal and party mesmerized the audience with their folk dance and scintillating music.
The main attraction of the Mela, as per the release, remained the stalls set up by the Health, Rural Development, Horticulture, Social Welfare, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and other departments. Besides generating awareness about health and various rural oriented schemes, the visitors were given literature on various welfare programmes launched by the government for economic empowerment of women and the farming community.
Besides, representatives from CARE College informed the gathering about the vocational education and the benefits students can reap. Speaking on the occasion, the ACR lauded the efforts of DAHWA for holding such an informative programme, saying this will go a long way in improving the economic conditions of the rural population.
"This Mela would not only provide an opportunity to people of such far off areas to know and take benefit of government schemes but also help preservation of Dogra cultural and traditional ethos for the posterity", he added.
He also stressed the need for bringing this revered place on state's tourism map in view of its religious and historic significance.
Chairperson, DAHWA and Mela Committee, S.S.Sumbria, expressed gratitude to district administration, Information department, Cultural Academy and the people for supporting them in the smooth and successful conduct of the mela. |
