Kheer Bhawani: Majority of Kashmiri Pandits miss mela amid panic over targeted killings

Less footfall was observed at the Mata Kheer Bhawani temple in Kashmir as many Kashmiri Pandits have boycotted this year’s Kheer Bhawani festival.

The festival, which was organised after a hiatus of two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, witnessed a thin attendance because of the recent killings of the Kashmiri Pandits in the city.

For the unversed, the Mata Kheer Bhawani festival is one of the largest gatherings of pilgrims in Kashmir following the Amarnath pilgrimage.

The Kheer Bhawani temple is situated at Tullamulla village in the Ganderbal district of central Kashmir, which is constructed over a sacred spring.

The holy spring is known to change its colour into hues of red, pink, orange, green, blue, and white. The black shade of the spring water is believed to be inauspicious