Youm-e-Ali to be observed amid tight security

Youm-e-Ali will be observed with devotion and respect in the garrison city to commemorate the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali (RA) on Tuesday.

According to sources, a large procession will be taken out in connection with the day for which a tight security plan has been devised.

As per the plan, entry to the mourning procession will only be allowed through walk-through gates, and closed circuit cameras have also been installed along the route.

Approximately 2,700 police personnel will perform security duties on the day to ward off any untoward threats.

The largest procession will be taken out from Imam Bargah Mohanpura Waqar Zaidi at 9pm, they said and added that it will pass through Mohanpura, Novelty Cinema Chowk, Kashmiri Bazaar, Fawara Chowk, Iqbal Road, Bohar Bazaar Chowk and end at Imambargah Colonel Maqbool.

Standing on roofs of houses on the procession route has been prohibited under the security plan. Moreover, volunteers will distribute milk and tea to the participants of the procession. All the shops and markets along the route of the procession will also be closed immediately after Iftar.

Apart from the main procession, 44 smaller processions will be taken out across the region and around 97 Majalis will be held.

Sources said the procession originating from Mohanpura will be highly sensitive for which more than 1,600 police personnel, bomb disposal squad officials, elite commandos, female police officers, civil defense personnel, and more than 2,000 volunteers will perform duties.

On the other hand, the City Traffic Police (CTP) on Monday issued a comprehensive traffic plan for the day urging motorists to use alternative routes as several roads in the garrison city would be closed to all kinds of vehicular traffic. To ensure the security of the mourners and the main procession, the CTP has imposed a complete ban on the parking of vehicles and handcarts on the route of the procession and near Imam Barghas.

Rawalpindi Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Taimoor Khan told that to ensure the security of the procession, 100 traffic personnel would be deployed to maintain the flow of traffic. Traffic would be diverted to alternate routes during the procession while 20 diversions would also be put in place at various locations in the city for motorists.

A special control room has also been set up in Traffic Police Headquarters, he said. Emergency squads would also be appointed to maintain the flow of traffic in the city, he added. The CTO directed the wardens to remove all kinds of encroachments from the route of the procession, besides keeping a vigilant eye on suspicious persons and activities. Strict disciplinary action would be taken against the delinquent officials, he added.

WITH Additional input from APP

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2023.