For the first time in 32 years, Kashmiri Pandits organized a Janmashtami procession to celebrate the birthday of Lord Krishna here on Monday. Amid tight security arrangements, the jhanki yatra started from the Ganpatyar temple in the Habba Kadal area of the city and passed through Kralkhud, Barbarshah before reaching the clock tower at the historic Lal Chowk, officials said.
The procession crossed over the Amirakadal bridge, passed through the Jehangir chowk and returned to the temple.
Devotees, including men, women and children, sang Krishna Bhajans, danced with abandon alongside the chariot and distributed sweets among people.
Shaurya Doval, a BJP functionary, said in a tweet that the celebrations happened in the same place where even hoisting India’s national flag was a life-threatening act in 1992. “And today, people of the Hindu community are able to conduct their religious proceedings at the same location. It has only been possible under the able leadership of PM Narendra Modi ji,” he said.
There was no procession in 2020 due to Covid-19, while the lockdown imposed in the wake of abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in August 2019 had led to the cancellation of the event.
(With PTI inputs)
