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Third year in a row, 8th Muharram procession held from traditional route in Srinagar

Third year in a row, 8th Muharram procession held from traditional route in Srinagar

Hindustan Times18 hours ago
Thousands of people from the Shia community peacefully participated in the 8th Muharram procession from its traditional route in Srinagar on Friday, third year in a row, after the authorities decided to continue the religious event after 34 years, in 2023. People from Shia community during 8th Muharram processions in Srinagar on Friday. (Waseem Andrabi/HT)
The month of Muharram is remembered for the sacrifice of Imam Hussain (AS) and his companions in a seventh-century battle in Karbala, present day Iraq.
The marchers chanted Islamic slogans, commemorating the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (peace be upon him), and marched early morning from Guru Bazar through MA Road culminating the march at Dalgate, the traditional path of the event.
'For 35 years we have attempted to take out this procession from this route and we don't want any mistake on our part which again stops this. We make all the effort to make this smooth and thank you for the cooperation,' Masroor Abbas Ansari, a Shia leader, told police officials during the procession.
The government allowed the event for the third year in a row giving the community the time slot of 5 am to 8 am. The procession was banned during militancy from the early 1990s owing to law and order issues. However in 2023, after 34 years, the government allowed the event which is being organised peacefully since the last three years.
Volunteers of the community, police as well as the administration had arranged for drinking water, sanitation, sprinkling and other facilities for the ease of the marchers. The traffic department had diverted the traffic movement to other routes.
Kashmir divisional commissioner Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, Srinagar deputy commissioner Akshay Labroo and Srinagar senior superintendent of police G V Sundeep served water to people at the iconic Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Friday as a mark of respect for the tradition of Muharram.
Bidhuri said that all necessary arrangements had been made by the police to ensure the safe and secure conduct of the event, as thousands of devotees participated in the 8th Muharram procession. 'This is the third consecutive year that Muharram is being observed. The district administration has made all necessary arrangements for the 'azadaars(mourner)',' Bidhuri said. 'Police arrangements have been made with safety and security as the top priority.'
He requested people to keep the procession limited to its religious significance. 'One mistake by a single person can taint the whole event. The procession should continue like this peacefully,' he said.
Director general of police, coordination PHQ, SJM Gilllani and IGP Kashmir Zone, Vidhi Kumar Birdi, took stock of the security of the religious event and also distributed drinks to the participants of the religious procession.
'This is Muharram-8 and a lot of arrangements have been made for the participants for a smooth procession. Besides, the security arrangements are complete,' the IGP said.
He said that the administration, including police, was in touch with the organisers for the 10th Muharram processions in all districts. 'This is being done for smooth movement of participants and the religious processions,' he said.
For the smooth movement of the procession, the Srinagar traffic police had issued a detailed traffic advisory to regulate vehicular movement in the city. To ensure smooth traffic flow and public safety, the authorities had made several diversions with complete halt on traffic movement from Karan Nagar towards Jehangir Chowk via Shaheed Gunj and Tankipora from 5 am to 8 am. In addition, traffic was not permitted from Jahangir Chowk towards the MA Road stretch leading up to Dalgate and Badyari Chowk from 5 am until the culmination of the religious procession.
To accommodate the large number of participants, parking facilities had been arranged at three key locations — SP College ground, Gindun Park, and the Batmaloo bus stand.
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