In Kashmir Valley, the annual Mela Kheer Bhawani is being celebrated today with religious fervour and gaiety on the occasion of Jyeshtha Ashtami.
This is one of the most important festivals for the Kashmiri Pandit community during which devotees offer Kheer (rice pudding), milk, flowers, and aromatic leaves to Mata Ragnya Devi. The mela symbolizes faith, resilience, cultural reconnection, and communal harmony.
The largest gathering of devotees assembled at the shrine of Mata Ragnya Devi at Tulmulla in Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, where thousands of community members from Jammu and Kashmir and across the country converged to hold special devotional rituals, prayers, and aartis.
The festivities are also being conducted at other Mata Ragnya Devi shrines in North Kashmir’s Tikker Kupwara district and South Kashmir’s Logri Pora Aishmuqam Anantnag district and Manzgam and Devsar areas in Kulgam district.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited the shrine in Tulmulla early this morning and offered special prayers there. Meanwhile, elaborate security and arrangements have been put in place for the smooth conduct of the festival.