Muslims too want the temple be restored
PAMPORE, July 18: A temple in Saffron town Pampore area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district is in shambles since 2014 floods.
Kashmiri Pandiths living around Satishwar (Shiv Temple) Mandir in Drangbal area of Pampore complain that the temple has been damaged in 2014 floods.
“The walls and ceiling of the temple has developed cracks,” said a Usha Wangoo belonging to Kashmiri Pandit community in Drangbal Pampore.
She told that the temple is 400 years old and was built for Kashmir’s sofi saint and poetess, Laleshwari’s guru, Sat Sahib.
She added that it is one of the important halt point for yatris of annual Chadi Mubarak yatra which is carried out by hundreds of sadhoos after culmination of Amarnath Yatra.
The Sadhoos used to do puja inside the temple and stay here in the associated Ashram, she said.
She told that after the temple and it’s associated ashram was damaged in 2014, the sadhoos do the hawans in the temple yard and thereafter leave without taking any halt. She urged authorities to restore the past glory of the temple so that they could worship there as per their customs.
Gulzar Ahmad Sheikh, a local resident from Pampore town told that this a historic Shiv temple and that Muslim community from the area wish it gets restored.
He urged up on Tehsildar Pampore and Deputy commissioner Pulwama to take measures for restoring it.
“It were the Muslim community which cleaned premises of the temple from debris and other muck when it was damaged in 2014 and since then no one from administration came forward to help them,” he said.
Tehsildar Pampore Ishtiyaq Mohi ud-Din (KAS) told that they will take up this matter with higher authorities and will help them in restoring this old temple.