Had there been a proper footbridge, footfall of pilgrims would double every year, say devotees, seek CM Omar, Dy CM, MLAs Sunil Sharma, Shagun Parihar’s intervention
Imran Shah
Jammu, (TDD): Faith knows no barriers as being witnessed in Kundal Paddar area of Kishtwar district of Jammu region. Here, devotees travel long distances to visit revered temple of Sighasan Mata Rani but face lot of issues while crossing the river to reach the temple.
The temple witnesses huge rush on the occasion of annual festival in the month of April when pilgrims from Paddar and other parts of Kisthwar come to perform special pooja prayers at the temple. But the pilgrimage is not confined to the one special occasion of April as pilgrims continue to visit the temple through out the year.
They believe if the footbridge would be constructed over the river connecting Paddar with the temple, number of pilgrims will double within no time and will also generate employment for the locals of the area.
Rajinder Singh, a devotee from Kundal village while speaking to the Diplomat said that the footbridge was constructed when Chaman Lal Gupta was the leader but that got damaged and today, there is no proper way and pilgrims have to cross the river. “We urge the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Deputy Chief Minister and local MLAs Sunil Sharma and Shagun Parihar to take steps,” he said.
Jai Krishan, another pilgrim, said that every year a pilgrimage isw taken from Kundal village to the temple of Mata Sighasan. “We urge the MLAs Shagun Parihar and Sunil Sharma to take up the matter with the Chief Minister and deputy chief minister. If needed, the matter for the construction of proper footbridge should be taken up with the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha so that pilgrimage is conducted smoothly,” he said.
He said the temple is revered and thousands of pilgrims have faith with it as they believe their wishes and prayers get answered there.
“But while reaching out to the temple, we face lot of difficulties as we have to cross the river,” he said, adding that “At times, flow of water is so fast that many pilgrims prefer not to cross the river.”
Bhupinder Singh, another devotee said that “Cradle Bus” is the only source installed when Chaman Lal Gupta was MLA. “This Cradle Bus is ferrying pilgrims since past over two decades. We consulted the officials from the administration and we were told that Detailed Project Report (DPR) is ready. There has been already a delay of over five years. We don’t know what is the fate of DPR,” he said
Many other pilgrims demanded that the new dispensation should take the matter seriously and work on construction of proper footbridge so that pilgrimage is conducted smoothly every year—(TDD)
