Rainawari (J-K), Oct.20 (ANI): Veteran Congress Party leader and former ruler of Jammu and Kashmir Dr. Karan Singh on Saturday opened a Shiva temple at Rainawari after 22 years.
The renovated temple had been closed in 1990, when militancy in the Kashmir Valley had reached its peak.
It was renovated by the Jammu and Kashmir Dharmarth Trust at a cost of Rs. 18 lakhs.
Dr. Singh, who is now a Rajya Sabha MP, said that in 1846, his ancestor, Maharaja Gulab Singh had set up the Dharmarth Trust to look after the functioning of the various new and old temples so that the devotees could perform their religious activities.
He said the trust looks after 100 temples in the state, including more than 20 temples in the Kashmir Valley.
These included the famous Kheer Bhawani Temple and the Sathoo Barbarshah in Srinagar, he added.
Temples like Shri Amarnath Ji and Vaishnov Devi are being run by the trusts established by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir through an Act, Singh said.
He said Jammu and Kashmir has a unique identity of thousands of years of composite culture. (ANI)
