Kashmiri Pandits celebrate annual Mela Kheer Bhawani

TULMULLA/JAMMU, June 14 (PTI): “Faith is more powerful than fear,” said a pilgrim, who was among the hundreds visiting temples across Jammu and Kashmir to celebrate the Mela Kheer Bhawani, amid heightened security following four terrorist attacks in the Union Territory.
The fair — an annual event at the Kheer Bhawani temple, dedicated to Rangya Devi, in Ganderbal district’s Tulmulla — is also celebrated in other shrines and temples in Jammu and Kashmir to mark ‘Zyeth Atham’, or ‘Jyeshtha Ashtami’.
“Everything is in the hands of God. There is some fear but people have come here in large numbers. Faith is more powerful than fear,” Sunny, a Kashmiri Pandit from Delhi, said as he and several others from the community congregated at Rangya Devi in the central Kashmir district for the Mela.