Eid ul Adha prayers will not be held in Eidgahs as per TS Wakf Board guidelines

Muslims across the city will be celebrating Eid ul Adha (Bakrid) on Saturday. The festival is celebrated on the 10th of Dhu al Hijjah of the twelfth and last month of Islamic calendar.

In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Eid ul Adha prayers are not being held at the Eidgahs including the biggest Mir Alam Eidgah in the city where close to one lakh people attend the prayers. Similarly, at important mosques like Mecca Masjid, Shahi Masjid Bagh-e-Aam and other mosques, the Eid-ul-Adha prayers are not being held due to social distancing issues.

The TS Wakf Board had issued guidelines and advised people to observe social distancing during the prayers at the mosques. It also asked the elderly and the children to do prayers at their homes only.

Following the Wakf Board advisory many mosques across the city are holding multiple “Jamaat” (congregations) and are planning short sermons. For instance at the Masjid e Alamgiri in Shantinagar near Masab Tank, the first congregational prayer will start at 6.15 am, next at 7 am and the last at 8 am. Similar timings are planned at other mosques in the city to avoid crowding.

The management committees of the mosques asked the people to carry their own prayer rugs and do



ablution at their homes before coming for the prayers.

Since Friday afternoon a festive atmosphere prevailed in certain pockets of the city with people visiting the shops to make purchases of essential commodities and clothes. “The Ramzan festival was celebrated amidst the lockdown and shops were closed. So people are now coming to purchase new clothes. However, the business remains dull with only a few customers daring or affording to purchase clothes,” said M A Faisal, an apparels store owner at Khilwat. Crowds were visible at bakeries where people were buying bread to make the “double ka meetha” for Eid alongside the Biryani.

The livestock markets across the city received a lukewarm response due to the pandemic. Traders pointed out that the cattle/ sheep from adjoining States of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh did not arrive this time. Nevertheless, those who could afford, thronged the livestock sale points and purchased the sacrificial animal. A sheep weighing 14 kg on average was sold for Rs. 9,000 in the city.

Meanwhile the police are making elaborate security arrangements in the city and Eidgah to prevent any gatherings. Police pickets are posted at different sensitive places and religious places as a preventive measure.