CM Omar Abdullah inspects arrangements for annual Mata Kheer Bhawani mela

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday visited the revered Mata Kheer Bhawani shrine at Tulmulla, Ganderbal, to review preparations for the annual Mata Kheer Bhawani mela scheduled on 22 June.

The Chief Minister inspected the arrangements for devotees and directed all concerned departments to ensure timely provision of essential services, including sanitation, drinking water, power supply, healthcare, security and traffic management, so that the festival is conducted smoothly and all pilgrims are facilitated with due care and convenience.

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Hundreds of devotees, mostly Kashmiri Pandits, are expected to visit the temple of Ragnya Devi, popularly known as Mata Kheer Bhawani, at Tulmulla in the central Kashmir district, to celebrate the annual Mela on Monday.

The chief minister inspected various facilities put in place for the devotees and reviewed the arrangements for the smooth conduct of the mela.
Omar also paid obeisance at the temple. “It is a sacred day. People come here from various parts of the country and world to pay obeisance and get blessings of the mata. I have come here in the capacity of the chief minister of J&K, and more so as the MLA Ganderbal, to assess the arrangements and review the preparations,” he told reporters after the visit.
The chief minister said he spoke to the priests and others at the temple who raised some issues about the arrangements and assured them that attempts will be made to address them before the mela on June 22.

To a question about the upcoming annual Amarnath yatra, Omar said the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board oversees the arrangements for the pilgrimage which begins this year on July 3.
“The board oversees the yatra and the biggest responsibility about the smooth yatra lies with the board. However, whatever support we have to give from the government side, we are doing that,” he added.