'Pathron ka Mela' passes off peacefully

The annual ritual of pelting stones at 'Pathron ka Mela' passed off peacefully at Dhami village, around 25 km from here.
The ritual which is held a day after Diwali saw two-groups--one representing the erstwhile royal family of Dhami and the other commoners from Jamogi--pelting stones at each other.
"The pelting stops when a person starts bleeding after being hit. His blood his offered to Goddess Kali as 'tilak'. This time the pelting ended in 20 minutes and the blood of Hukum Chand of Jamogi was offered to the goddess," general secretary of the Mela, Ranjit said, adding Chand suffered a minor injury.

However, social activists dubbed the tradition as "cruel".
"The pelting begins after the deity arrives at Dhami village from the Nara Singh and Kali Devi temple in the Dhami palace," he said.
The erstwhile royal family of Dhami ruled over Dagoi, Turnu, Kateru and Jatheru villages while Jamogi area belonged to commoners.

"Getting injured is considered auspicious. It is said the erstwhile rulers started the ritual after banning the practice of human sacrifice," he said.
Meanwhile, minor fires broke out in various parts, including a hospital, of Himachal Pradesh on Diwali, police said.
In Panthaghati , on the outskirts of Shimla, a fire broke out at Aastha Hospital and property worth Rs 10 lakh was destroyed. No one was injured, DGP Home Guards and Civil Defence S R Mardi said

Over a dozen small fires occurred at other places in Shimla district but there was no loss of life or injury, he said.
A residential house was gutted in SJVN Colony at Jeory here and a cowshed in Jasai and electronic shops at Sujanpur villages in Hamirpur were gutted
"At Jeory the damage was around Rs 5 lakh and Rs 4 lakh at Sujanpur while all livestock in the cowshed-fire were rescued," he said
This Diwali, only six burn cases were reported in Shimla town. One from Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) and five from DDU hospital, police said.