JAMMU : A 40-member delegation, including seven serving judges from Pakistan, today reached ‘no man’s land’ to offer traditional ‘chadar’ at an annual fair of Baba Chamliyal in Ramgarh Sector of Samba district for the first time.
The Pak Rangers and BSF officials meet at Zero line along the Indo-Pak International Border was the highlight of the meeting.
Delegation members exchanged sweets and laid ‘chadar’ at the tomb of Baba Daleep Singh Manhas, famous as Baba Chamliyal, on this side of the border.
The delegation interacted with the senior officials of BSF and civil administration, a BSF representative here told reporters.
He said besides the judges Brigadier Waseem, Sector Commander, Chenab Range, Wing Commanders Faizal, Qaiser, Tahir, Zaffar, a Tehsildar from Sialkote, District Office Coordinator Abid and a group of civilians attended the occasion.
From the Indian side, DIG BSF Varinder Singh, Sector Commander, Indreshwar Nagar, DC Samba Rajinder Kumar Verma, SSP Samba Israr Khan and other senior officials met with the Pakistan delegation, he added.
Meanwhile, officials and members of the civil administration from both the sides discussed various issues during their hour-long meet and later they exchanged sweets, traditional ‘chadar’ and trolleys loaded with ‘shakkar’ (mud) and ‘sharbat’ (water).
Thousands of devotees from different parts of the country since morning thronged the fair and were seen standing in long queues to pay obeisance at the shrine of Baba Chamliyal, an occasion which falls on the fourth Thursday of June.
People on this side of the border participate in the fair at the Hindu shrine of Dalip Singh Manhas, popularly known as ‘Baba Chambliyal’ while the devotees in Pakistan visit Saidanwali village on the Zero Line and organise a three-day fair and wait for ‘Shakkar’ and ‘Sharbat’ of Baba Chamliyal’s dargah.
Devotees coming to this place take a holy dip in the belief that by applying ‘soil’ (shakkar) and ‘water’ (sharbat) all skin diseases will be cured.
The 320-year-old Chamliyal Mela, is being celebrated on both sides of the International Border, has become highly popular since November 26, 2003, after the guns became silent on the border following ceasefire and parallel peace initiatives by both India and Pakistan.
Till 1971, Pakistanis were allowed to come to this side of the border to pay obeisance at the shrine and offer ‘chaddar’ but after 1971 Indo-Pak war, the practice was stopped. (AGENCIES)
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