Congress chief sends prayer items for Pak-bound ‘jatha’

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 22

A Hindu “jatha”, comprising 210 devotees, left for Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border today. The pilgrims will pay obeisance at Katas Raj temple to mark Maha Shivratri and Maha Shiv Pujan scheduled for Friday.

The temple is situated at Katas village near Choa Saidanshah in Chakwal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has dispatched puja samagri (items for prayers) with the “jatha” being led by the Kendriya Sanatan Dharam Sabha (Northern India). Pandit Benimadhav Goswami will perform prayers on Sonia’s behalf in the Pakistan temple.

Mahant Swaroop Bihari Sharn, president, Sanatan Dharam Mahavir Dal, said: “We got a call from Sonia Gandhi’s PA on February 18, informing us that she wanted to get puja performed at Katas Raj temple. For the purpose, she wanted to send prayer items. We got the material collected from her house.”

Meanwhile, devotees from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh complained about poor arrangements at the Durgiana Mandir’s dharamshala.

A group of pilgrims, boarding auto-rickshaws to reach the Attari border, claimed they were charged between Rs700 and Rs1,000 for one night’s stay.

Durgiana Mandir committee secretary Harish Taneja said, “Everyone has to pay for the accommodation.”

After celebrating Maha Shivratri at Katas Raj temple, the “jatha” will leave for the “samadhi” of Luv in Lahore on February 26 and a cluster of other Hindu temples.

The next day, religious programmes are scheduled at Sri Krishna Mandir, Lahore. The “jatha” will return on February 28.