Delay of Bari Imam urs frustrates disciples
The festival has been banned for four years due to security concerns.
ISLAMABAD:
After several failed attempts to hold the annual urs at the Bari Imam shrine in Islamabad, many have been forced into underemployment.
The annual festival has not taken place for four years now. Small businesses near the shrine have been facing great losses. Mohammad Iqbal works at a local shop at Bari Imam that sells pots of pulao that people purchase for charity.
Each pot is prepared and then handed over to the langar for distribution. Iqbal said the business has taken a severe hit due to the ban.
He said that there are about half-a-dozen employees at each of the 50 such shops in the area. During the festival, he said, each employee makes around 15 to 25 pots per day, but during slow days, one shop sells six or seven pots a day.
Iqbal said that he is unsure if the festival would even take place this year, but he hoped it does, because people’s lives are directly affected by the ban.
Other shops selling flowers, eateries nad budget hotels surrounding the shrine have also been losing business, he added.
Sahadat Shah from the Bari Imam Administration said nothing has been done despite repeated applications filed with various government departments.
“We have handed applications to everyone including the prime minister and the president, but nothing has been done,” said Shah.
The annual festival was supposed to take place at the end of March. According to a devotee, the festival could still be held till the second week of June.
Two weeks back, the Islamabad High Court had asked the administration to look into the Shah’s application and decide on the possibility of holding the urs. But the admin is yet to give a final answer. Shah said that when he contacts the concerned departments, they say work is in progress, but nothing is being done on the ground.
“We are extremely frustrated…they are killing us spiritually, they have locked Bari Imam’s doors for four years now,” said Shah.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 4th, 2012.
After several failed attempts to hold the annual urs at the Bari Imam shrine in Islamabad, many have been forced into underemployment.
The annual festival has not taken place for four years now. Small businesses near the shrine have been facing great losses. Mohammad Iqbal works at a local shop at Bari Imam that sells pots of pulao that people purchase for charity.
Each pot is prepared and then handed over to the langar for distribution. Iqbal said the business has taken a severe hit due to the ban.
He said that there are about half-a-dozen employees at each of the 50 such shops in the area. During the festival, he said, each employee makes around 15 to 25 pots per day, but during slow days, one shop sells six or seven pots a day.
Iqbal said that he is unsure if the festival would even take place this year, but he hoped it does, because people’s lives are directly affected by the ban.
Other shops selling flowers, eateries nad budget hotels surrounding the shrine have also been losing business, he added.
Sahadat Shah from the Bari Imam Administration said nothing has been done despite repeated applications filed with various government departments.
“We have handed applications to everyone including the prime minister and the president, but nothing has been done,” said Shah.
The annual festival was supposed to take place at the end of March. According to a devotee, the festival could still be held till the second week of June.
Two weeks back, the Islamabad High Court had asked the administration to look into the Shah’s application and decide on the possibility of holding the urs. But the admin is yet to give a final answer. Shah said that when he contacts the concerned departments, they say work is in progress, but nothing is being done on the ground.
“We are extremely frustrated…they are killing us spiritually, they have locked Bari Imam’s doors for four years now,” said Shah.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 4th, 2012.