Madhu Lal-Hussain urs: Crowding, indiscipline worry security personnel

Relatively low attendance observed this year.

LAHORE:

“So many of the people who visit the urs are not at all civilised. They do not understand the importance of security and have no patience at such places. We need more space at such places. Things seem to be going out of hand with larger number of visitors,” a security officer at Madhu Lal-Hussain shrine said.

He regretted that people pushed each other and did not listen to the security personnel making it difficult for them to manage the crowd.

He said that the security fence was broken twice on the second day.

Abdus Sattar Haji, one of the visitors said, that authorities should think about utilising the space properly. Pointing out the swings in the courtyard at the back of the shrine he said, “Accommodating people is more important than swings and rides. The Auqaf Department should purchase more land around the shrine to manage the crowd and also expand the shrine compound.”

Another security worker said that many people took offense at checking. “God forbid, if an untoward incident happens, they blame us for the lapse,” he said.

Afzal Naqvi, the Auqaf Department district manager, said it was not possible to expand the area around the shrine. “The surrounding area is mostly residential and there is a graveyard at the back,” he said. The rides, he said, were a major source of revenue and a famous part of the festival.

On the second day of the urs, people visited the shrine in groups with offerings.

Muhammad Waseem, a visitor from Jallo Mor, said that his family had been visiting the urs for generations. “We feel a special connection with Shah Hussain and his poetry,” he said.

Narrow streets and the crowd had never bothered him or his family, he explained.

Saif Yar Khan of the MQM Coordination Committee, along with a party delegation laid a wreath on the shrine on behalf of MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain. Nazim Hussain, a PPP leader, also laid a wreath during a visit at the heed of a party delegation.

There will be special prayers today. The shrine will be open to women only.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2011.