Altaf wani
Srinagar, Aug 30: “Janmashtami”, the birthday of Lord Krishna, was on Monday celebrated with religious fervor and gaiety in the Kashmir valley.Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti greeted people on the occasion.
Members of the Kashmiri pundits, including women and children, who had not migrated in early 90s following eruption of militancy, were seen visiting temples since this morning to join special prayers.
They were also joined by the personnel from different paramilitary agencies and employees of different government departments.
Meanwhile, after two years, members of Kashmiri pundits today took out a from Ganpathyar mandir in the old city under proper security arrangements.
Members from the Muslim and other communities greeted their Kashmiri pandit brethren, dressed in colourful attire.
To mark the occasion, processions will be taken out which will pass through different streets, including historic Lal Chowk, the nerve centre of the city.
This time the number of participants was less as compared to 2018 when the last procession on Janmashtami was taken out in Srinagar. However, in 2019, the procession could not be taken out due to curfew restrictions after special status of Jammu and Kashmir was revoked and in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic no outdoor festivity was organised.
