‘Foolproof’ security for Data Sahib Urs

Minister says 102 private guards hired for security duty.

LAHORE: The Auqaf and Religious Affairs Department will make foolproof security arrangements at the 967th annual Urs of Ali Usman Hajveri, popularly known Data Sahib, from January 23 to 26, said Haji Ashanuddin Qureshi, minister for Auqaf and Religious Affairs, at a press briefing at the shrine on Wednesday.

The Data Sahib shrine was the target of a triple suicide bombing last July in which dozens of people were killed.

The minister said that the ceremonies at the shrine would be monitored with 80 security cameras to keep a check on suspicious people. He said nine walkthrough gates would be installed at the shrine’s entrances where police officials equipped with metal detectors would search all who wish to enter.

The police would deploy 300 extra officials for security in and around the shrine and would be assisted by the shrine’s volunteers, he said. The department has hired 102 extra guards from private security agencies for the Urs. The management rented two generators to ensure the lights stay on, he said, and there is a force of 200 sanitary workers to clean the shrine.

Quershi said the department had allocated extra funds of Rs4.5 million to spend on langar for devotees and visitors. He said 500 religious scholars and qaris and 200 spiritual leaders from prominent families and shrines would participate in the ceremony.

There will be naat and tilawat competitions on January 22. The Syed Hajver Tasawuf Seminar will be held at Punjab University on January 20. Wapda, Wasa, Civil Defence and the Health Department have been requested to make special arrangements and set up camps at the site during the Urs, Qureshi added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th,  2011.