Srinagar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that Kashmir Valley and Jammu are once again returning to their old traditions, civilization and Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb due to the establishment of peace in Kashmir after the scrapping of Article 370 in the erstwhile state. Shah virtually inaugurated the Maa Sharda Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara along with J&K LG Manoj Sinha. He said the Modi government try for a Kartarpur-style corridor to the original temple in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.


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Amit Shah began his address by wishing the countrymen on the occasion of New Year. "The newly-constructed temple of Maa Sharda has been opened for the devotees and this is an auspicious sign for the devotees from all over India. He said the inauguration of the Maa Sharda temple is the beginning of a new era.


Amit Shah told the gathering that "Ravinder Pandita (head of Save Sharda committee) has asked for Kartarpur-style corridor for Sharda Temple, the government of India will surely make attempts in this direction, there is no doubt in that."


 



After gap of 76 years Sharda Yatra base temple starts glittering again with the sound of holy bells and religious chants of devotees at LOC on the banks of Kishen Ganga river in North Kashmir. Creating a history of sorts, the idol of Goddess Sharda was also placed on sanctum sanctorum in newly constructed Sharda temple in Teetwal area of Kupwara district on the auspicious occasion of first Navratra.


He said, “I congratulate the whole team for their struggle for this temple. Shardha Peeth was a source of knowledge. People used to come here from all over the country,". 


The temple has been built by Kashmir’s Save Sharda Samiti and the Shri Sringeri Math to revive the Shardha pilgrimage, which stopped after 1948 as the original temple fell under Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in Sharda village along the Neelum River. Teetwal, where a temple has been built now, was the historic base camp for devotees who would go to Goddess Sharda's shrine before partition.


The idol was installed on the sanctum Sanctorum with the chanting of Vedic hymns by renowned scholars and Pandits who have reached Teetwal from Shingeri Math in Karnataka where from the Murti of Goddess was brought.


Teetwal temple of Goddess was the base camp for world famous Sharda Peeth University prior to partition between India-Pakistan. The temple at Teetwal which was the base camp to the holy yatra of Mata Sharda and a Gurdwara which was existing nearby the temple on the bank of Krishan Ganga river were set ablaze   by raiders in 1947.


The land, where this temple has been built, was taken with the support of locals as it used to have dharmshala and a Sikh gurdwara. Local Muslims of the area welcomed the idol and burst firecrackers and were seen hugging people accompanying the idol in Teetwal close to the LoC with Pakistan. 


Dozens of devotees drawn from different parts of country including J&K had reached Teetwal to participate in the grand installation of Goddess idol today. 


A new history has been scripted and it will be beginning of a new era of brotherhood and peace in the region, said Ravinder Pandita who is chairman of Save Sharda Committee. 


Ravinder Pandita and other devotees who constructed the temple at Teetwal and brought the idol from Shingeri Math to this place after traveling 6000 kilometres and now wants the early restart of Sharda Peeth Yatra on the other side of LOC.


The Locals of the area also joined there Pandit Brothern today on this auspicious day and hope that with the reconstruction and restart of this temple the brotherhood will increase among the people in this LOC area, and this will also help the upliftment of the people living in this far-flung place close to LOC.