Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 22: To keep the age old tradition alive temples and Shrines Prabandhak Committee Tral Awantipora celebrated the festival of Navdal yatra at Geeta Bhawan Muthi instead of Tral in Pulwama district of Kashmir due to unrest in Valley.
As per a handout issued by the Committee there has been a tradition from times immemorial that the relics by the Amarnath pilgrims were immersed at Navdal Tral on Chutherthi Krishan Paksh of Badhun moth every year.
But due to the disturbances in Valley since 1989 the festival could not take place for two decades. However for the last six years the Committee again started celebrations at Navdal and devotees from different parts of Valley and Jammu used to visit the shrine to participate in the religious function and other rituals.
The Committee said that the Navdal consisting of nine springs spread over 19 kanals of land is a famous religious shrine of Hindus of Kashmir where the pilgrims used to come. After having a holy dip in the springs they were performing the Rudra Abhishek of Shivlingam also and other religious rites including immersion of footwear and sticks used during holy Amarnath yatra in the water there.
The people hailing from Tral area participated in the function here and after pooja archana prasad was distributed among them.
Swami Kumar Ji, BJP MLC Surinder Ambardar, Ravinder Raina president ASKPC, Vijay Kashkari vice president AIKS. The function was held under the chairmanship of Jawahar Lal Pandit president of the Committee.