Jammu celebrates restoration of land with 'dhol' beats, greetings

Jammu, Aug 31 (UNI) The winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir today celebrated the victory of restoration of land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board on 'dhol' beats and by wishing 'mubarak' to their relatives, friends and the neighbours as soon as the news spread like wild fire in the entire region.

Hundreds of people waiting outside the venue for the final announcement since night, on receiving information about the positive outcome, started dancing on the tunes of the 'dhol' and music amid chanting 'Bam Bam Bhole' and 'Bhole Teri Jai Jai Kar.' ''The struggle continued for over two months and people from every religion and caste enthusiastically supported the cause and finally we won,'' an enthusiast activist of Sangharsh Samiti told UNI.

Sweets were distributed, people exchanged wishes and greetings among each other chanting 'Bam Bam Bhole' while colourful fire crackers in the sky reflected the emotions and faith of the people of Jammu.

''The City of Temple has been observing complete shut down for the last 39 days so we were not able to get fresh sweets but I purchased some toffees and as soon as I got the first hand information this morning about final result of the issue, I prepared sweet dish (halwa) at home to distribute it among the residents of my locality,'' Neha Mahajan, a housewife added, who along with her kids was on road to celebrate the occasion.

The people arranged 'langars' and offered sweet water to the passersby while youngsters carrying tri-colour took to the streets amid the chants of 'Bhole teri jai jai Kar, teri leela apram par.'' Hundreds of people visited the religious places especially to the famous Raghunath Temple, Aapshambhu Temple and Rameshwar Temple and offered prayers while morning walkers were seen wishing 'Bam Bam Bhole' to others instead of good morning.

The protests sparked bandh and demonstrations in Jammu after the government revoked an order transferring land to the Shrine Board on July 1.

The agitation was intensified under the banner of Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Samiti (SAYSS), a conglomerate of 45 religious, social and political organisations, spearheading the two-month long agitation.

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