Jammu, June 11 (IANS) Before returning to Srinagar on the Vande Bharat train on Wednesday, former Chief Minister and ruling National Conference (NC) President, Dr Farooq Abdullah paid obeisance at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K) Reasi district.

Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Dr Farooq said, “I had a great ‘darshan’ and I am hopeful that all our prayers for peace, progress and brotherhood at the shrine will be answered so that we can move forward and our country also marches ahead and we become part of its development trajectory.”

On Tuesday, the 87-year-old NC President took his maiden ride from Srinagar to Katra town on the Vande Bharat train, which connects Kashmir to the rest of the country.

Dr Farooq stayed at the sanctum sanctorum of Mata Vaishno Devi shrine overnight and took part in special prayers there.

He was accompanied by his grandsons, Zamir and Zahid.

J&K minister, Satish Sharma and CM Omar Abdullah’s advisor, Nasir Aslam Wani and several NC legislators, including party chief spokesperson, Tanvir Sadiq accompanied the NC President during his train journey.

Asked about his overnight stay at the shrine, Dr Farooq said, “I felt very happy.”

Satish Sharma, who accompanied Dr Farooq said, “We had darshan thrice after reaching the holy town of Katra, which is a great blessing for us.

“Dr Abdullah walked two to three kilometres to reach the shrine and we prayed for J&K to get back its lost glory. J&K is India’s crown and we want to reach that height again.”

Later, Dr Farooq Abdullah returned to Srinagar through the Vande Bharat Express after an overnight stay at the shrine in Katra.

Dr Farooq Abdullah described the arrival of the train service to Kashmir Valley as a game changer that will benefit tourism, horticulture and the economy of the Valley.

He said people would no longer be “fleeced by the airlines by hiking fares each time the Jammu-Srinagar highway got closed” like it used to happen in the past.

–IANS

sq/rad