Speaker J&K Assembly Kavinder Gupta today inaugurated the 9-day long Jhiri festival and paid obeisance at the shrine of Baba Jitto and Bua Kaury in presence of large number of devotees and local people at Shama Chak, Jammu.MLA Marh, Sukhnandan Kumar Chowdhary, MLA R S Pura, Dr. Gagan Bhagat, MLA Akhnoor, Rajeev Sharma, MLA, Khour, Dr. Krishan Lal Bhagat, District Development Commissioner Jammu, Simrandeep Singh, SDM Marh, Ved Parkash, BDO, Marh were also present on the occasion.Paying rich tributes to Baba Jitto, Speaker termed this mela as a tribute to the life of legendary farmer who fought against the archaic system of exploitation and for the cause of marginalized farmers.The Jhiri Mela is held every year in memory of Baba Jitto and his daughter Bua Kaury which is attended by nearly 8 to 10 lakh devotees from Jammu, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and other parts of northern India.The Speaker along with other dignitaries also inaugurated and inspected various stalls displayed by the department of Animal Husbandry, Agriculture, Information and Broadcasting, Sericulture, Horticulture, Sicop, Floriculture and others.The department officials detailed about various initiatives taken by their departments for the benefit of villagers and for the people related to the trade pertaining to these departments.
Stressing on the need for adopting latest techniques in carrying out day to day activities, Kavinder applauded the steps being taken by the departments in reaching out to the people and organizing such awareness programs.Inaugurating the exhibition of the information & broadcasting department, Kavinder said that the people should take maximum benefit from various schemes and programs run by the government for sustainable development of the nation.The literature for general awareness related to management, healthcare, genetic improvement of animals, crops, plants and employment opportunities in these sectors was also distributed during the mela.A series of cultural programmes were also organised highlighting the cultural and traditional heritage of the State.The Speaker appreciated the efforts of the organisers for managing and holding such a beautiful mela and congratulated the artists for their enthralling performance and promoting the state’s rich heritage.Later, the Speaker inaugurated Indian style wrestling and distributed prizes among the departments for participation and for their efforts to create awareness among common masses about the schemes and initiatives of the government.The stalls from Department of Agriculture, Department of Animal Husbandry and Department of Horticulture bagged the first, second and third prize respectively.