SUKKUR: Hindu devotees filled the air with bhajans and kirtans (devotional songs) at Sadhu Belo temple on the second day of the three-day 162nd melo of Baba Bankhandi Maharaj here on Friday.

The devotees, including men, women and children, kept pouring in from various parts of the country to be part of the festivities at the temple, which was located on an island in the Indus River.

Krishan Sharma, chairman of the Pakistan Hindu Temple Management Committee, and Dewan Chand Chawla, general secretary, arrived in the temple where they were welcomed by Mukhi Ishwar Lal of the Sukkur Hindu Panchayat, Rajkumar Wadhwani, convener of the Mela Committee, and others.

The devotees offered special prayers for the progress and prosperity of the country as well as for the resolution of tensions between Pakistan and India, and worshipped and prayed for the eternal flows of the Indus.

On the final day of the melo, the organising committee would hold a Neelam Ghar, and Gyan of Gita (recitation and exegesis of Bhagavad Gita).

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2025