STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Temples and Shrines Management Board (TSMB) of Kashmir on Thursday demanded foolproof security in and around places of worship of minorities in the Valley.
“We demand foolproof security in and around shrines and temples of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley as a confidence building measure for the community”, TSMB President B.L Bhan told reporters here on Thursday.
Besides, places of minorities and minority clusters should also be given full security so that a sense of security and protection is felt in the minds of Kashmiri Pandits, he said. As many as 208 temples in the state suffered damages during past two decades of militancy with Srinagar witnessing highest number of acts of vandalism.
“Of the 438 temples in the Valley, 208 had been damaged over the years,” the state government had said in the Assembly in 2012.
57 temples were damaged in Srinagar, while 56 in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, it said.
Zeashta Devi Prabandhak Committee (ZDPC) chief B B Bhat and head of Save Temples of Kashmir Movement (STKM) Ravi Jogi were also present to launch a two-day photo-exhibition on temples and shrines beginning here from tomorrow. They hit out at the state government for “withdrawal of the security” at the temples and shrines in the wake of the Kashmir unrest.
“We criticise the government for the withdrawal of the security of temples and shrines in Kashmir… government should take stringent action against those undesirable elements which are hell bent upon to cleanse the KPs in the Valley,” ZDPC chief B B Bhat said.
They also requested the management of other temples and shrines to nominate their representatives to the TSMB. “Till the bill on management of temples and shrines of Kashmir is passed in the State Legislature, all the managing committees should join hands for the proper management of Hindu shrines and temples in the Valley,” Bhat said.
He said the photo-exhibition will showcase rich religious and cultural heritage of Kashmiri Pandits. “We are holding a two-days long exhibition from November 26-27 in Jammu to showcase the temples of Kashmir,” the ZDPC chief said.
ZDPC and TSMB will jointly hold the exhibition at Kala Kendra here. The photo-exhibition will showcase both ancient and newly rebuilt temples, which were damaged by the militants during the last 26 years in the Kashmir Valley. On the conclusion day on November 27, an intellectual meet will be held to discuss the issues confronting the community, Bhatt added. Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits migrated to Jammu and other parts of the country when militancy erupted in the Valley in 1989.
