               RSS chief pays obeisance at Bawe Wali Mata
The nine -day long Navratra festival started with full religious fervor and gaiety across the J&K today. All the temples across the UT were fully decorated and illuminated by the devotees and management committees of respective temples and shrines. Besides, the sowing of Sakh was performed by the devotees in their houses which after being worshiped for nine days will be immersed in different rivers on Maha Navmi falling on October 23.
Thousands of devotees also visited for darshan and paid obeisance to Mata Durga on the first day of Navratra in various temples today. In Jammu highest rush was seen in Bawe Wali Mata temple at Bahu Fort where the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief, Dr Mohan Rao Bhagwat who was on three days tour of Jammu visited Kali Mata temple this morning to pay obeisance there. He was accompanied by RSS Prant Pracharak, Rupesh Kumar and general secretary VHP, Abhishek Gupta. Dr Bhagwat performed puja in the holy temple and he was also presented a portrait of Mata by the Temple Management Committee members. Elaborate security arrangements were made in the area during the visit of RSS chief to the temple.
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Hundreds of devotees also visited historic Raghunath temple here where the celebrations of Navratra festival started this morning. The Dharmarth Trust has made elaborate arrangements for the devotees visiting the temple.
Moreover, hundreds of devotees drawn from different parts of J&K visited the different temples in Samba and Kathua on the first Navratra to pay obeisance. The rush continued late in the evening.
On the first day of Navratra there was heavy rush in the Chichi Mata temple, Samba from early this morning and as per reports over 9000 pilgrims paid obeisance at the holy temple today.
The rush of devotees also continued in Sukrala Mata temple Billawar in Kathua district, Jasrota Fort in Kathua, Jodawali Mata Bani, Sundrikot Mata Billawar and Balasundri Nagri, Kathua. As per reports over 11,000 devotees visited in these temples on the first day of Navratra today. Besides different parts of Jammu devotees from neighboring Himachal Pradesh and Punjab also visited these temples.
