With the help of the locals, the historic Uma Bhagwati temple dedicated to Maa Bhagwati was renovated and thrown open for the devotees in the presence of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai at Brariangan area in Shangus Tehsil of the Anantnag district.
The temple has been reopened after a gap of nearly 34 years as it was vandalized by terrorists in the year 1990.
The Union Minister was accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Syeed Fakhrudin Hamid, Senior Superintendent of Police Anantnag, Dr G V Sundeep Chakravarthy, officers from the district administration and office bearers of Uma Bhagwati Asthapan Trust.
During the re-opening ceremony, the idol of goddess Uma, brought from Rajasthan was placed in the sanctum sanctorum.
The Union Minister, while addressing the gathering of devotees, expressed confidence that a large number of devotees shall visit the temple on its re-opening.
He said that the government's commitment towards a developed J&K and the UT's own syncretic culture shall go a long way to develop J&K into a prosperous and peaceful region.
Uma Bhagwati temple in an ancient shrine of Valley
Notably, the Uma Bhagwati temple at Brariangan is an ancient shrine where devotees used to come in large numbers from different parts of the J&K to pay obeisance to the Goddess. The temple is situated amidst five springs including "Brahma Kund, Vishnu Kund, Rudhra Kund, and Shiv Shakti Kund".
After the outbreak of terrorism in the Kashmir valley in 1990, the temple was vandalized. The inauguration ceremony was held after the completion of restoration work at the Mandir.
Devotees in large numbers, especially Kashmiri Pandits, were present on the occasion to pay obeisance to Goddess Uma Bhagwati and seek darshan of the deity. The ceremony was attended by a large number of devotees who came from different parts of the Union territory.
During the ceremony, an idol of Goddess Uma Bhagwati was placed in the sanctum sanctorum amid the chanting of religious hymns. The idol was brought from Rajasthan.
700-year-old temple being restored in Srinagar
The Jammu and Kashmir government has started renovating all heritage religious sites in the Kashmir region. The 700-year-old Mangaleshwar Bhairav Temple in the Baba Demb area of Srinagar is also being renovated and restored to its original glory.
Located inside a water body on an island in Srinagar's Baba Demb area, Mangaleshwar Bhairav Temple was completely damaged in the 2014 floods and now the archaeology department is making sure to restore the temple as per its exact original architecture when it was made.
The government is spending over Rs 16 million on the temple and the project has been handed over to the roads and building department. All the renovation of the temple is being done in consultation with the Kashmiri Pandit community and is being completed in three phases.
