Jhiri festival begins in Jammu

The nine-day Jhiri festival at the shrines of legendary farmer saint Baba Jitto and his daughter Bua Kaury began here today with a large number of devotees thronging the venue.
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta inaugurated the festival and paid obeisance at the shrines of Baba Jitto and Bua Kaury at Shama Chak.
Gupta said the mela was a tribute to the legendary farmer who fought against exploitation.
The Jhiri festival is held every year in memory of Baba Jitto and his daughter Bua Kaury.
Nearly 8-10 lakh devotees from Jammu, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and other parts of northern India visit the fair every year.

The Speaker, along with other dignitaries, also inaugurated and inspected various stalls put up by government departments.

Stressing the need for adopting latest techniques in carrying out day-to-day activities, the Speaker applauded the steps being taken by the departments in reaching out to the people and organising such awareness programmes.
Inaugurating the exhibition of the Information and Broadcasting department, he said the people should take maximum benefit from various schemes and programmes run by the government for sustainable development.
A series of cultural programmes have been organised highlighting cultural and traditional heritage of the state.