Magh mela begins in Uttarkashi

The annual Magh Mela also known as “Badahat Ka Tholu” kick started at the Azad Ground here on the occasion of Makar Sankranti on Sunday.

The event now organized every year by the zila panchayat and local administration dates back to many centuries when traders from Tibet participated in the fair and exchanged goods.

Hundreds of devotees in the district took a holy dip in Bhagirathi and offered prayers at Vishwanath and Bhairavnath temples. Villagers then carried dev dolis to the banks of Ganga and some of them dressed up as Pandavas, praying and dancing around the Chamali Ki Chauri (stage of God) on the tunes of traditional instruments.

Cabinet minister Arvind Pandey and Tehri MP Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah inaugurated the fair on Sunday. Pandey said that the fair would be provided recognition at the state level.