Jumatul Vida observed with religious fervour

Srinagar, Mar 28: Thousands of devotees thronged the famous Hazratbal shrine on the occasion of Jumat-ul-Vida, the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadhan.

On Jumat-ul-Vidaprayers, the Hazratbal shrine was abuzz with many devotees who offered prayers.

Amid windy weather, men, women, elderly people, and children were seen gathering in the major religious places across Kashmir to observe Jumat-ul-Vida.

The largest gathering of congregational Jumat-ul-Vida prayers was observed at the famous Hazratbal shrine.

As Shab-e-Qadar was observed on Thursday night, the Hazratbal shrine administration said that a huge number of devotees was present at the shrine overnight.

“Devotees from across Kashmir who had come to observe Shab-e-Qadar at the shrine stayed for the Jumat-ul-Vida prayers and there was a huge rush at the shrine,” an official said.

The officials said that they had put special arrangements for the day to ensure that no devotee would face any inconveniences.

They said various departments including the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), Power Development Department (PDD), J&K Road Transport Corporation (JKRTC), and Traffic Police had made special arrangements for the devotees.

“Given the Shab-e-Qadar and Jumat-ul-Vida, we carried special sanitation drives across all major religious sites in Srinagar. In addition to routine drives, we carried other tasks related to sanitation to ensure devotees don’t face any problems,” an SMC official said.

Traffic Police had also put in a detailed traffic plan for Jumat-ul-Vida.

Officials said that there was a huge influx of vehicles and men and machinery was present to manage traffic.

Meanwhile, markets around Hazratbal shrine and other religious sites were abuzz with shoppers.

With an expectation of huge footfall of devotees, vendors had set up stalls selling various items ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.

“A huge rush of devotees was expected at Hazratbal and like every year, I had put multiple stalls where I sold clothing and other items. Vendors had set up stalls of every kind and people were making brisk purchases ahead of Eid,” Irfan Ahmad, a vendor at Hazratbal, said.

Meanwhile, a large gathering was also seen on Friday prayers at Jenab Sahab Soura, Asar-e-Sharif Shahri Kalashpora, Lal Bazaar, Khanqah-e-Maula, Ziarat Hazrat Dastgeer Sahab (RA), Syed Yaqoob Sahab (RA) Sonwar, Khawaja Naqshband Sahab (RA), and Ziarat Makhdoom Sahab (RA).

Special prayers were also held at Masjids and shrines in north and south Kashmir mainly at Jamia Masjid Reshi Sahab, Khiram Sirhama, Kaba Marg, Dooru, and Seer Hamdan.