Srinagar: Persian New Year Navroz was celebrated with traditional fervour in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.
Massive plantation drive has been launched across the valley. The authorities have already announced to plant lakhs of saplings of different varieties in educational institutions and other areas during the drive.
The festival has important cultural and religious significance and in Kashmir, the members of Shia community are celebrating it with fervour and gaiety every year on this day when day and night are equal.
It is seen as arrival of Spring season in Kashmir and is celebrated for nine days all over India.
Pertinently, hundreds of patients every year make a beeline outside leech therapy centres in Srinagar and other towns in the hope of getting rid of their long-time ailments.
This day is considered auspicious by agrarian society of Kashmir. The farmers believe that seeds sown on Nowruz bloom into a healthy plant. The life span of a crop and its production remain good if sown on this date or afterward.