The Kashmiri Pandits said they will lobby and hold demonstrations for passage of Kashmir temples and shrines trust bill in the Assembly,asserting it is the only way to safeguard them. "We will lobby with legislators,hold demonstrations and create a public opinion in order to facilitate passage of the Temples and Shrines Bill through Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly",national vice-president J&K Vichar Manch,R L Bhat,told reporters here. He said the passage of the bill and setting up of shrine and temples board under such an act will safeguard the temples and shrines in the Valley,as these sites are subjected to massive encroachments and sale. Terming temples and shrines as cultural identity of the Kashmiri Pandits,he urged the state government to move the bill in next session of Assembly and ensure its passage. "Government had admitted that there are 170 temples which have been damaged during past two-decades in Kashmir. There are over 500 temples.We need to save them",he said.
