The festival of colours, Holi was celebrated on Friday with traditional fervour and gaiety across the Jammu and Kashmir.
Members of Hindu community celebrated Holi by splashing colours on their family and friends. Muslims also visited their Hindu neighbors and greeted them on the festival. They also exchanged and distributed sweets among them.
Maharaja Bazar --- commonly famous for also selling festival celebration products ---- had also announced discounts for Hindu brethren on the occasion.
Security forces posted in Kashmir also celebrated Holi with enthusiasm while few security establishments had also erected banners wishing people on the occasion.
Paramilitary and army troopers gathered in their camps and danced to the beats of popular Holi songs besides smearing colours on each other. Many tourists also celebrated the festival by greeting each other. Celebrators also burst crackers.
In Jammu, several educational institutions celebrated the festival with fun and fare.
Students came in colourful dresses and sprinkled different dry colours on each other. Some of the schools also distributed stationery among needy students.
The markets also wore festive look while temples and residential houses were decorated. Various famous markets in Jammu city were also decorated.
Border security force posted in Jammu also celebrated festival at Jammu headquarters while some political parties also organized events to celebrate the Holi.
The sweet shops in Srinagar witnessed a good rush, even as Muslims exchanged sweets with their Hindu friends and acquaintances and greeted them on the occasion.
"We have prepared special varieties of sweets today. Many of our customers ordered special bakery," said a salesman at a bakery shop in Srinagar.
Social networking sites were abuzz with Diwali greetings. Muslims in Kashmir posted animations of burning diya (oil lamp) on Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter to greet their Hindu friends.
A large number of devotees thronged Hanuman temple at Amira Kadal here for special prayers.
The devotees at temples said they prayed for peace, prosperity and progress of J&K.
"May every diya that we light on Diwali infuse new life in those suffering from life threatening diseases. On this day we pray for whole humanity," said Ashok Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit.
He said that his Muslim friends in Srinagar never forget to greet him and his family on this occasion. "Their warm greetings are always part of our celebrations. We exchange sweets today; I have received a large number of greetings on phone from Muslim friends across J&K while many visited my home to greet us," he said.
Officers and their family members were dressed up for the occasion and attended Holi parties.
Reports said that different units of security forces organized special Holi parties in which respectable citizens of the locality were invited. At many places, the security forces distributed Holi gifts among children and organized different games for them.
In Jammu, various social and religious bodies had organized Holi celebration events.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration had asked people to burst only "green crackers'' on Holi.
An order by the State Executive Committee of the Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction said that the decision on "green crackers" had been taken for Jammu and Srinagar in line with a National Green Tribunal ruling that restricted the sale and use of crackers in cities and towns where air quality is moderate or low.
Green crackers are so named because they do not contain harmful chemicals.
The order also listed all safety precautions for people while using fireworks which include using open spaces like playgrounds and fields for fire cracking, not burning crackers in a crowded or congested place or inside the house.
The advisory has also asked people to keep an eye on children and don't let them burst crackers on their own.