Jammu, June 1 -- Under tight security, hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits left for the Valley on Sunday morning to attend the annual Kheer Bhawani Mela. A convoy of 60 buses, flagged off by Relief Commissioner (Migrants) Arvind Karwani, Deputy Commissioner Jammu Sachin Kumar Vaishya, and senior police officers from Nagrota, is carrying the devotees to five Ragnya Bhagwati shrines at Tulmulla (Ganderbal), Manzgam and Devsar (Kulgam), Logripora (Anantnag), and Tikkar (Kupwara). The mela will be held on Tuesday.

This year, the turnout of devotees is significantly lower, likely due to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists, and the subsequent military escalation between India and Pakistan.

SSP Jammu Jogind...