Bilal Bashir Bhat Follow @bilalbashirbhat
Srinagar, June 20: The shrines in Kashmir these days are presenting deserted looks. Since last year 05th August, and now particularly after the outbreak of deadly disease Covid-19, faithful visiting the shrines has dropped drastically. The plethora of uncertainties have refrained thousands of devotees to visit the shrines in Kashmir, especially in Old City Srinagar where dozens of shrines of the Sufi Saints are located. Most of them arrived in Kashmir almost seven centuries back to spread Islam in the Hindu dominated region.
At shrine of Mir Syed Ali Hamadani (RA) aka Khanqah-i-Moulla, Ghulam Muhammad (name changed) would collect not less than Rs 1500 per day from devotees in return of his blessings and remembrance in prayers.
“During the normal period i.e. pre-abrogation of Article 370, hundreds of people would pay obeisance at Khanqah-i-Moulla, who would donate gold, rupees and other eatable items as a part of rituals aimed to fulfill their needs. We also used to get about 1500-2000 rupees as Nazr-o-Niyaz, now that government has imposed restrictions on congregational prayers the shrines presented a deserted look which obviously impacts our financial prospects,” a caretaker/guardian of a local shrine said here pleading anonymity.
Similar kind of story was received from Dargah Hazratbal Shrine, where caretakers/ guardians would sit in a queue in a respectable manner to meet their earnings, however the current situation due to the lockdown the pious persons who carry the legacy of their ancestors are reeling under pathetic conditions.
Similar kind of stories were heard from the guardians of revered shrine of Hazrat Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom Kashmiri (RA) aka Makhdoom Sahib.
A Molvi sahib, who leads the prayers at a revered shrine, said the lock down has brought devastation to our financial position, adding, the process to receive nazr-o-niyaz and Hadiya by the visitors especially on special occasions is halted.
It speaks of the pathetic conditions that shrines and hospices in Srinagar city are facing. Similar inferences can be made about other shrines and people associated with them.
Pertinently, ever since the lockdown was imposed to combat the threat posed by COVID-19 in Jammu and Kashmir there have been around 6500 positive cases reported including the 90 deaths.
