Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Sukhnandan Chowdhary, on the fourth Navratra, lit the sacred Jyoti as the chief guest, to mark the beginning of the Shobha yatra , here last evening. MLA Reasi Ajay Nanda was also present at the religious procession taken out as part of the ongoing Navratra festival.A large number of pilgrims from across the country and state witnessed a scintillating cultural procession depicting rich culture of the state and the Country. The Navratra Festival is being organized by Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) and Department of Tourism in collaboration with district administration and local organizations at Katra.
ADDC Bhawani Singh Rukwal, SSP Reasi Surjit Kumar, SDM Katra Anil Kumar, DD Tourism, senior officers of different departments, members of Navratra Celebration Committee, Hotel Association Katra, prominent citizens and a large number of people were present on the occasion.While speaking on the occasion, the Minister greeted people on the occasion of Navratras and appreciated the efforts of all the organizing committees for holding a colorful Shobha yatra cum cultural procession depicting the culture of the state and country through colorful Jhankies.
The Minister assured all possible help from the government side and said. He said the Government is committed to overall development of the state adding that the aspirations of people of every part of the state would be redressed in a time bound manner. He stressed upon the people to preserve and keep alive the rich culture and traditions of the state. He prayed to the goddess Maa Bhagwati, for the peace, prosperity and development of the state.The tastefully decorated colorful Jhankies including traditional dances like Gidru, Kud and various Bal Devta’s Roop, Meera roop, Tridev roop, view of Vaman avtar & King Bali, Scene of Shiv Parivar at Kailash,Devki-Vasudev Bandigrah & Cuns, View of Sutra in Dogra culture, yatara of Mata and various scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata received repeated applaud amid slogans of praise of goddess Durga from the devotees.
The impressive Shoba Yatra- cum- cultural procession was taken out from the Asia Crossing, which after passing through the main bazaars and other locations of the Katra town, culminated at Chintamani Mandir. Later, the Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood control, Sukhnandan Chowdhary also attended the ongoing All India devotional song competition 2015 as a chief guest and appreciated the efforts of organizers for holding the mega contest.As many as 12 participants participated in the competition. The proceedings were conducted by Rakesh Wazir, President Katra Hotel Association.
Meanwhile, Artists of Song and Drama Division, Ministry of I&B , Government of India presented a colorful cultural programme, which left the onlookers spellbound.
The Cultural presentation featured folk music and dances of different regions of the country which were highly liked and appreciated by the audience, in the premises of Government Higher Secondary School, Katra.Earlier, religious discourses/Pravachan on Bhagwad Geeta and Ramayana were held at Raghunath Mandir Katra. Religious scholar, Sadhvi Viveka Bharti asked the devotees to follow the right path to achieve right position in the life. Thousands of devotees were present on the occasion.