news details |
|
|
| Pandits feel betrayed as Govt fails to constitute Shrine Board | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Aug 9: With State Government's failure to bring an ordinance for formation of a Prabhandak Board for protection of Kashmiri Hindu religious places and shrines in Valley, the seven lakh Pandits leading an exiled life in Jammu and other parts of globe feel cheated.
The Pandits accused Government of total betrayal of giving false assurances to the community and making hollow promises in settling their problems which get compounded day by day.
The Government in April had promised to the Apex Advisory Committee to Kashmiri migrants that it will soon bring an ordinance for constitution of Prabhandak Board for protection of religious places and shrines in Valley after the members cornered the Government on the issue said Vimal Kumar a Kashmiri migrant from Srinagar.
He said the assurance came from none except the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the meeting who announced the Government will bring an ordinance in place of the bill pending in State Legislature but later failed to do anything. This way community feels totally cheated and betrayed, Vimal added.
Expressing concern over the condition of Hindu shrines in Valley he said many pious shrines have been damaged while others were either razed to ground and their land encroached or sold. To maintain up heed and protect these shrines in absence of Kashmiri Hindus who have been forced to migrate from Valley was not possible without formation of a Board, he added.
He said a grand religious shrine at Akingam in Anantnag district of South Kashmir where thousands of devotees used to converge twice in a year when grand religious congregations were used to be held on Ram Navmi and Mahanavmi is in ashes. This grand and magnificient temple of Lord Shiva in the foothills of Pirpanchal range was razed to ground by militants and its land has been converted into playing field, he added.
Same has been the condition of another grand temple of Goddess Uma in Uma Nagri Brari Aangan in the same district said Ram Kumar a migrant from Utrasoo. The magnificient temple dharamshallas in the shrine complex have been razed to ground by terrorists over a decade back, he added.
He said a grand religious congregation was also held at this famous shrine considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva on Gang Ashtami every year and thousands of devotees used to attend it. He said famous shrine of Devibal adjacent to Nagbal Anantnag has also been razed to ground by militants in nineties.
Kumar said even the Government did not spare the Hindu Shrines from encroachment and at various religious places where holy springs existed which were managed by the minority Pandits to maintain their sanctity have been used as pump sheds by PHE department after encroaching their land.
The historic Vitasta shrine which is the source of river Vitasta in Kashmir has been encroached by the department after installing PHE water pipes in the main spring and constructing a pump shed adjacent to it for water supply in the area.
Same has been done at Manghama shrine of Manglaeshwar in Pulwama district he said, adding that the holy spring at this shrine has also been converted into water supply scheme by PHE department. He said at Vitasta a grand function used to held on Veeth Triyodashi in September every year and Kalhan's Raj Tarangni an ancient book on Kashmiri's history has a full description about the shrine.
This is the condition of various other religious shrines in the Valley said Ramesh Bhat. He said the land of famous temple of Baba Dharam Dass has been sold while the Government has encroached the land of cremation ground at Sopore, Baramulla in North Kashmir, Wanpoh and Sagam, Anantnag in South Kashmir and at several other places.
This has generated a lot of resentment among the community who for over a decade was demanding construction of Board but Government is taking no pains and instead diverting the issue. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
