After 34 years, the doors of the ancient temple Uma Bhagwati were opened for the devotees in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district yesterday. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai threw open the temple for devotees at Brari Aangan in the Shangus area of Anantnag. Thousands of devotees drawn from different parts of J&K, especially Kashmiri Pandits were present on the occasion to pay obeisance to Goddess “Uma Bhagwati”. 

During the re-opening ceremony, the idol of Goddess Uma, brought from Rajasthan was placed in the sanctum sanctorum. The Union Minister while addressing the gathering of devotees expressed confidence that a large number of devotees shall visit the temple. He said that the Government’s commitment towards a developed Jammu and Kashmir and its own syncretic culture shall go a long way to develop J&K into a prosperous and peaceful region. Notably, the Uma Bhagwati temple at Brari Aangan in south Kashmir is an ancient shrine where devotees used to come in large numbers from different parts of Jammu and Kashmir to pay obeisance to Goddess “Uma Bhagwati”. 

The temple is situated amidst five springs including Brahma Kund, Vishnu Kund, Rudra Kund and Shiv Shakti Kund. The Union Minister was accompanied by Anantnag Deputy Commissioner Syeed Fakhrudin Hamid, Senior Superintendent of Police G V Sandeep Chakravarthy, Officers from the district administration and office bearers of Uma Bhagwati Asthapan Trust.