The Sharda Yatra Temple Committee under the aegis of Save Sharda Committee Kashmir on Sunday started the construction work of Sharda temple near the Line of Control (LoC) in Teetwal.
A puja was held at the construction site in which Kashmiri Hindus from various parts of the country, a large number of Sikhs and locals were present. According to the committee, after reclamation of the ancient heritage site, destroyed in 1947, the dharmshala and a small Sikh Gurudwara would form the base camp of Sharda Yatra. A Charri Mubarak will be taken out from here to Sharda that will cross to Chilhana Village.
The committee had performed Bhumi Pujan on December 2 last year and the temple plan and model is already approved by Sringeri South Mutt. The artwork granite stones have been carved at Bidadi, Karnataka to be used in this temple.
"We demand that Sharda Peeth should be opened for pilgrimage, on the lines of Kartarpur in our greater Sharda Mission" said Ravinder Pandita, Head and founder of the Committee. This base camp at Teetwal will be reclaiming one of our traditional routes to Sharda Peeth Yatra and would invite religious tourism throughout the globe, Pandita added.
Later the committee started Kar Seva by starting excavation work on site. The holy puja water was later immersed at LoC bridge at the dividing white line. Local committee members Khawaja Iftikhar Ahmed, Retd. Capt. Ilyas, Joginder Singh, Ajaz Khan , Surinder Mirza, S K Koul were also present on this occasion.