“At Nadimarg, Kulgam, the Arde Nareshwar temple reopened today after around two decades. It was a pleasure to join our local Kashmiri Pandit brethren at the temple in their ancestral village. Nadimarg is at Shopian-Kulgam border,” the deputy commissioner (DC), Kulgam, Athar Aamir Khan said on X.
: Over 20 years after 24 Kashmiri Pandits were massacred in Nadimarg village of south Kashmir, the village’s Arde Nareshwar temple was opened on Saturday in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district, officials said.
The deputy commissioner (DC), Kulgam, Athar Aamir Khan made a special visit to the temple and interacted with devotees and the temple authorities on the opening day.
“At Nadimarg, Kulgam, the Arde Nareshwar temple reopened today after around two decades. It was a pleasure to join our local Kashmiri Pandit brethren at the temple in their ancestral village. Nadimarg is at Shopian-Kulgam border,” he said on X.
On the interviewing night of March 23 and 24, 2003, masked gunmen wearing battle fatigues knocked on the doors of Pandits in Nadimarg village, some 50 km south of Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar, and asked people to assemble. The people were then fired upon killing 24 persons which included 11 men and an equal number of women besides two children. After the massacre, police had said Lashkar-e-Taiba were responsible for the killings and named seven people. The main accused, Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zia Mustafa, was killed in an encounter in 2021 in Poonch.
The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh high court in 2022 allowed fast resumption of the Nadimarg massacre case, a decade after the trial in the case was halted abruptly.
After the massacre, many Pandit families fled the village leaving the temple abandoned.
Locals said that occasional visits by the Pandits in the intervening years became more frequent as the situation improved after 2019.
The temple was renovated this year.
On the opening day on Saturday, “Murti Sthapana Puja” was held at the temple with religious fervour, an official statement said.
Devotees from across the district gathered in large numbers to offer prayers and celebrate the day.
“After more than 20 years, the puja has resumed at the temple, and it fills me with immense happiness to see this, “ said Vicky Bhat, a devotee.
During his visit, Khan reviewed the facilities available for the devotees and assured the administration’s continued support in preserving and promoting Kulgam’s historical and cultural landmarks.
Meanwhile, the district administration has developed a road from Katapora to Nadimarg and has taken other developmental projects on priority to augment facilities for devotees in the area.