A group of priests carrying the holy mace of Lord Shiva on Sunday left for Kailash Kund lake located at an altitude of 14,700 feet in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir. The annual pilgrimage to the holy Kailash Kund lake has been cancelled this year due to COVID-19 pandemic. The 10-day pilgrimage had already been cut short to three days, allowing only the ”Chhari Mubarak” (holy mace of Lord Shiva) procession to the lake through traditional Himalayan route, officials said. This year, only a select group of priests were allowed to perform the rituals in connection with the annual pilgrimage due to the pandemic situation. “The Chhari Mubarak was taken out from Vasuki Nag temple at Gatha this morning and was joined by another mace from Vasuki Nag Temple at Vasik Dhera Bhadarwah before leaving for the Kailash Kund,” officials said on Sunday. They said a group of devotees turned up to see off the mace, with the onlookers maintaining social distancing and wearing face masks. Every year thousands of devotees from various parts of the country used to participate in the ancient pilgrimage, but this time the administration only allowed the holy mace to proceed towards Kailash Kund. Superintendent of Police, Bhadarwah, Raj Singh Gouria and Sub-Divisional Police Officer Aadil Rishu accompanied the procession, officials said. “Due to COVID-19 threat, only the holy mace has been allowed to move towards Kailash Kund. All necessary security arrangements have been made for the pilgrimage,” Rishu said. He said the area domination was conducted by the police and other security agencies over the past week. The Kailash Kund is a big lake of cold and crystal-clear water with a circumference of 1.5 miles, situated at an altitude of 14,700 feet from the sea level. Locals believe that Kailash Kund was the original abode of Lord Shiva, who gave it to Vasuki Nag and himself went to live at Manmahesh in Bharmour in present Himachal Pradesh.
