Paramilitary forces celebrate Rakhi in Srinagar

Srinagar, Aug.5 (ANI): As people in the country celebrated Rakhi, the sibling festival, at their homes, the security personnel of paramilitary forces stationed in Srinagar marked the occasion with a note of happiness in thoughts and prayers on the lips on Wednesday.

The occasion ushered moments of peace and joys to the personnel of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) stationed in Srinagar.

Rakhi festival is marked by sisters tying Rakhi, the sacred band, on the wrist of their brothers as a reminder of love and affection between them. It also symbolises the duty of the brothers to protect their sisters.

Remembering their sisters, who otherwise would have tied Rakhis on their wrists had they been at home, the CRPF personnel offered prayers seeking divine blessings to protect their kith and kin, the sisters in particular.

They also prayed for eternal peace to prevail in the strife-ridden valley region of Jammu and Kashmir.

"I pray to God and Allah on this occasion. All of us are brothers and I have prayed for everyone's peace and prosperity. There shouldn't be any incident that will create trouble and bring happiness to the people living here and us," said Rishiram Mishra, a Havildar (sergeant) of CRPF.

Frequent disturbances ignited by militants and divisive elements in Kashmir valley have taken a heavy toll of the CRPF.

Despite these trends, these paramilitary personnel spared some out of their round-the-clock duties to celebrate Raksha Bandhan.

Indeed, at the end of it all they did feel a sense of bonhomie.

"We want to celebrate this festival of Rakhi with utmost happiness. Living in such militant-infested areas, we want to make the most of simple joys in our life. All of us deployed here have come from different parts of the country and celebrating Rakhi de-stresses us," observed Suresh Pandey, a priest of the temple at a CRPF camp.

The CRPF has been assisting the local police in counter insurgency operations against militants. (ANI)