The three-day celebration of 770th urs of the revered Sufi Saint of Sindh Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (RA) will commence from March 22 in the Sehwan town of the Jamshoro district.
Hundreds of thousands of devotees are expected to visit the small town off the Indus highway and around 140 kilometers away from Hyderabad.
The shrine has already been lit with colourful lights. As part of the security arrangements, 4,500 policemen are being deployed while 200 close circuit television cameras (CCTV) cameras have been installed.
Syed Abdullah Shah Institute of Medical and Health Sciences Director Dr Moinuddin Siddiqui informed The Express Tribune that 100 beds have been added to the 450-bedd hospital to deal with any emergency situation. He added that 50 ambulances have been stationed at the health facility.
According to Siddiqui, a heat stroke center and a diarrhea treatment center have also been set up in the hospital. Deputy Commissioner Jamshoro Capt (r) Fariduddin Mustafa told that 500,000 bottles of water have been arranged for free distribution in the town.He said the Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast hot weather during the three days of urs. The DC apprised that over 100 health camps and centers besides the town's main hospital will provide healthcare services during the urs.
The CCTV control room has been set up in premises of the shrine and activities in the town will also be monitored with the help of the drone cameras, he added. On February 16, 2017, a suicide bombing at the shrine claimed at least 85 lives and left scores of other people injured. The victims included men, women and children.
Traffic police from Hyderabad and other cities have been deployed on the Indus highway which witnesses many accidents because the road is narrow and heavy inter-provincial traffic passes through that highway. However, the police will stop the movement of goods transport vehicles on the route and the heavy traffic will be diverted to the National Highway in Jamshoro and Dadu districts.
On February 16, 2017, a suicide bombing at the shrine claimed at least 85 lives and left scores of other people injured. The victims included men, women and children.
The government has also declared a ban on swimming in the waterways which every year claims many lives. The governor Sindh Muhammad Ismail will inaugurate the urs celebrations on Tuesday morning.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 22nd, 2022.
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