STATE TIMES NEWS
KATRA: The historic three-day Aghar Jitto Mela which attracted more than 45,000 people concluded on Wednesday.
A small village Aghar, located about 5 km from Katra was decorated for the big event with thousands of devotees from within and outside the State including Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh thronging the place to pay obeisance to Baba Jitto Mal- a farmer, who had preferred to end his life instead of bearing the injustice at the hands of greedy landlords.
The Aghar Jitto Mela is organised to pay tribute to Baba Jitto Mal, also known as the Baba Jitto to commemorate his sacrifice.
The devotees took holy bath at springs known for healing power and paid obeisance at the temple constructed in the memory of the saint farmer.
It is believed that by taking a bath at the spring, people can get rid of several skin diseases and cure the victims of witchcraft.
The devotees also sought blessings of Bua Kodi, the daughter of Jitto, who jumped on the pyre of the Baba.
Various Departments like Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Handicrafts, Handloom, Sericulture, Employment and Rural Development as well as banks including J&K Bank, SBI and RBI had installed stalls which witnessed huge rush of farmers and youth from various areas. Ethnic food stalls and finished food products were main attraction in the Mela.
District Development Commissioner, Reasi, Sushma Chauhan personally supervised all the activities scheduled for three days.
Briefing the media persons, Chauhan announced that a “Reasi Festival” is being planned as an annual affair for depicting rich cultural heritage of district and to achieve the target a cultural society is being constituted.
Earlier, a mega cleanliness drive was launched at the Mela site, which will continue for two more days to clean
the festival venue and adjoining area.
