Army commander visits Sharda temple in J&K’s Kupwara

Srinagar, Jul 29 (PTI) General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai paid obeisance at the Sharda temple near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Saturday.

Lt Gen Ghai, accompanied by his wife, visited the temple and a gurdwara in Teetwal area of the north Kashmir district, Save Sharda Committee chairman Ravinder Pandita said in a statement.

He said GoC of the Kupwara-based Vajr Division Major General Girish Kalia was also present.

Pandita said this was the first visit of Lt Gen Ghai to Teetwal after taking over as the General Officer Commanding (GoC) Chinar Corps last month.

The renovated Mata Sharda Devi temple was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah virtually in March this year.

The ancient temple and its centre are being rebuilt with a view to revive the centuries-old pilgrimage to Sharda Peeth temple in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Sharda Peeth is “the seat of Sharda”, the Kashmiri name for goddess Saraswati.