COVID-19: Prayers in mosques, shrines remain suspended in Kashmir
Srinagar/UNI: Congregational and individual prayers in mosques and shrines remained suspended for the 14th week due to lockdown to prevent spread of COVID-19 in the Kashmir valley, where shops and business establishments reopened from Saturday last under strict guidelines in Srinagar.
However, in some areas people in small groups wearing masks and properly maintaining physical distance offered Friday prayers in local mosques and in big halls.
Meanwhile, people expressed hope that after partially easing lockdown norms on business and other activities, religious places will also reopen in the valley, where barring Ganderbal and Bandipora, all other districts have been notified as Red Zones in view of rise in the number of COVID-19 positive cases. The disease has so far claimed 75 lives while the number of infected persons have surpassed 5000-mark.
This was the 14th successive Friday that prayers were not offered in mosques and shrines in the valley as a precautionary measure to prevent spread of COVID-19. However, few elderly women could be seen offering prayers outside the shrine of Hazrat Gousal Azam Dastigeer at Khanyar.
All mosques and shrines, including Asaar-e-Sharief Hazratbal, which houses the Holy Relic of Prophet Muhammad, Jamia Masjid and other worship places remained closed since the lockdown was announced in March.
“Hopefully mosques and shrines will be reopening in the valley and people will once again be able to pray in these holy places,” said a group of people who were seen paying their respect near the shrine of Syed Sahib Sonawar. However, they said everybody is aware about the importance of social distancing and hopefully people will adhere to it once mosques and shrines are reopened for general public.
Authorities and religious organizations announced closure all mosques and shrines in J&K in view of the outbreak of COVID-19 in March this year. The Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMEU), an organization of different religious bodies, headed by incarcerated Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq, had appealed to people not to hold any congregational prayers in the wake of pandemic.
No congregational Shab-e-Qadar prayers were offered in any mosque in the valley. No prayers were offered on Jamat-ul-Vida, the last Friday of the holy fasting month Ramzan, in the valley, where Eid-ul-Fitr prayers were offered by people in their respective houses.
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