The historic three Day Shiv- Parvati Shrine Moungri mela commenced today here at Sar Dabber Kalsote, Tehsil Moungri.Minister of State for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Finance and Planning, Ajay Nanda was the chief guest at the inaugural function.A large number of People from Bhamag, Panchari, Udhampur, Chenani, Ramnagar and adjoining Districts of Jammu province converged at the mela site and paid obeisance at the Shiva-Parvati Cave Shrine.Greeting the people, Ajay Nanda said that such festivals not only quench the religious spiritual thrust of the people but also provide them opportunity to share their experiences and joys.The Minister said that government is making concerted efforts to promote tourism in and said that the places like Panchari, Sankri, Moungri, GouriMitti have huge potential for attracting tourists from across the country. He appealed to the people to turn up in large numbers to attend the event and seek blessings at the cave shrine.He also appealed the gathering to generate awareness among the common masses regarding various central and state sponsored schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission, Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, BetiBachaoBetiPadhao, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Ujwala Yojana etc. He asked the common masses to come forward and avail maximum benefits of these schemes.
After inaugurating the mela, the Minister went round the stalls put up by Agriculture, Horticulture, Sericulture, Animal and Sheep Husbandry, Fishries, Health, Tourism, RDD, departments for creating awareness about their respective schemes. He called upon the officers to put in sincere and dedicated efforts to make general public aware about the Government schemes meant for uplift of rural people.The Minister said that during three year of the present government numerous development works have been taken up for overall development. He said another thrust area is to provide transparent and good governance to the people of the state in all spheres. He congratulated the people of Moungri for Degree College recently sanctioned for the tehsil by the government.Later, he paid obeisance at the holy Shiv Parvati Cave Shine and prayed for peace and prosperity to the people of the state.Meanwhile, the district administration has made adequate arrangements of security, transport, Medicare, drinking water and power supply for the Mela days.On the occasion, the Youth Services and Sports Department Udhampur has organised rural sports and cultural activities with the involvement of school students of the area.Among others present were Chief Horticulture Officer, Brij Vallabh Gupta, Chief Animal Husbandry Officer, Dr. D.D Dogra, DSP Dar Himat Singh, Block Development Officer, Moungri Suman Kattal Zonal Physical Education Officer, Panchari Pawan Kumar Sharma and other district, sectoral officers of various departments and a large number of prominent citizens and visitors.