Jammu Tawi | Sep 18: A centuries-old temple, situated on the banks of River Jhelum in Srinagar's old town area, is being renovated by the Jammu and Kashmir tourism department after 30 years.
Noor Mohammad, an official with the tourism department, said, “This temple is around 300 years old. We are doing restoration work of the temple. We are restoring the maharaja brickwork, CGI sheeting and taking all the stuff and mud out.”
“We have been given Rs 43 lakh for its restoration and we have been working here for the last three months. We are sure people will come here after the restoration.”
He said the temple will be ready within the next four to five months, following which it will be reopened for the public.
This temple was built around 200 years ago and is believed to be dedicated to Lord Ram. The construction of the temple was done by Maharaja Gulab Singh in the year 1835.
The Kashmiri Pandits in the valley have welcomed the step and said all the temples which have been left in ruins need to be restored soon.
Sanjay Tickoo of the Kashmir Pandit Sangharsh Samiti said: “It is a welcome step that Raghunath temple which is 250-300 years old is getting renovated. We are happy that the temple bells will again reverberate and puja will be held.”
“And we are hopeful that all the temples which are in ruins will be restored so that people can go and pray at these places.''
The tourism department under the smart city scheme has taken up three projects of renovation in Srinagar city. The Raghunath temple, a church at Dalgate and a mosque in the downtown area of Srinagar will be renovated.
The church, also believed to be 200 years old, is being renovated by the tourism department in Srinagar. A shrine and gurdwara are other structures that are being restored as part of the project.
Mohd Afzal, the individual supervising the church restoration at Dalgate, said, “This is an old church and tourism department is doing these restorations, we have started with roofing of the church and we want to bring back the church in its original glory. It is completely damaged and we are expecting that within months we will be able to restore it.”
The government said this is the first step taken towards restoration of these historic monuments and more such steps will be taken in future.
