Over 5 lakh people offer Namaz at Eidgah maidan

Over 5 lakh people offer Namaz at Eidgah maidan
News Representation Image Source: Google Images

Lucknow: Over five lakh people, including a large number of women, offered namaz at the Eidgah maidan here on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, and prayed for the peace and prosperity in the country, besides the rise in employment and fall in inflation.

The offering of the namaz and special prayers were led by Eidgah's Imam Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali, who, while addressing devotees later, said Islam was the first religion to spread the message of human rights in the world.

Maulana Khalid Rashid also dwelt upon the importance of education and urged fellow co-religionists to impart education to children in the family.

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar later thanked UP's religious leaders saying that Eid was peacefully celebrated in the state amid its "traditional Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb", which would be on display in future celebrations as well.

Uttar Pradesh's Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, former CM Akhilesh Yadav, former Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma, state minister Danish Azad Ansari, Lucknow Central and West MLAs Ravidas Mehrotra and Arman Khan, were also present.

Lucknow's Christ Church College Principal R K Chhatri, besides Swami Sarang, Rajendra Singh Bagga, and Jagdish Gandhi too were also present among others on the occasion.

They all greeted people on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

ADG (Law and Order) Kumar later said Eid was peacefully celebrated in the state.

"The festival of Eid was celebrated peacefully and namaz was offered at around 32,000 places in the state. No untoward incident of any kind took place anywhere in the state, and people celebrated Eid with traditional fervour and gaiety," Kumar said.

He also said Akshay Tritiya and Parshuram Jayanti too are being celebrated today and the police force has been deployed for this in adequate numbers.

"Arrangements have been made so that no untoward incident takes place," he said.

He also thanked religious leaders for their cooperation and said with Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, such participation will be seen in upcoming festivals and they will be held peacefully.

In Lucknow, under the directives of Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Piyush Mordia, officials along with the police force made regular rounds in the city and the Eid namaz at Eidgah in Aishbagh and Tiley Waale Masjid were held peacefully.

Speaking on the occasion after greeting people at Eidgah, Deputy CM Pathak, said "Hazrat Muhammad Sahab had given the message of peace to the world. And on Eid, we spread this message by hugging each other.

Former Deputy CM Sharma said the Eidgah maidan located opposite the Ramlila maidan in Lucknow has always helped in strengthening the state's Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (culture).

"Our state is a big example of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (culture) and the Eidgah maidan has always helped in strengthening this culture as the place where Ramlila is staged in Lucknow is located opposite the Eidgah maidan."

Former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav said, "All of us should together celebrate all the festivals, and this is the pride of our country. By hugging each other on the occasion of Eid, the message of unity is spread.

Women also turned up in large numbers to offer Eid namaz at Eidgah and special arrangements were made for them to offer the namaz, the Eidgah committee officials said.

Addressing the gathering after the prayers, Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali said Eid, celebrated across the country and the world, gives the message of peace, brotherhood and happiness.

"Islam was the first religion to speak about human rights and made the world aware of it. A number of examples of this can be found in the Islamic Shariya and history. This includes various orders including that of zakat, he said.

Zakat is an Islamic term referring to an individual's obligation to donate a certain proportion of his wealth each year to charitable causes.

If these orders (including Zakat) are followed, there will be an end to injustice and poverty in the world," the Maulana said.

Maulana Khalid Rashid also appealed to the people for giving good education to their children and urged them to take the responsibility of imparting education to at least one child.

"The holy month of Ramzan teaches us to end the feeling of hatred and enmity, hug each other and give a message of love, sympathy and brotherhood," he said.

Stressing the need for a clean environment, he said it is "our duty" to keep the environment clean.

"We should plant more trees, especially those which are mentioned in the Quran. According to a WHO report, out of 15 most polluted cities in the world, 14 are located in India," he said and appealed to people to plant more and more trees and ensure cleanliness in their neighbourhood.

Delhi and Varanasi are among 14 Indian cities figuring in a list of 20 most polluted cities in the world in terms of PM2.5 levels of pollutants in 2016, data released by the WHO in May 2018 had said.

Prayers were also offered for the safety and prosperity of the state and the country. Special prayers were also offered for a fall in price rise and a rise in employment opportunities for the youths, besides peace in the entire world.