Muharram preparations: City govt, Shia leaders discuss arrangements

Patchwork of roads ordered, DCO to discuss electricity supply with LESCO.

LAHORE:

The city district government will meet Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) officials to try and ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply on the 10th of Muharram, said District Coordination Officer Noorul Amin Mengal in a meeting at the Town Hall on Tuesday.

The city government will also keep its generators on standby in case of an electrical fault on the day, said the DCO at the meeting with police officials and Shia representatives to discuss Muharrama arrangements.

Mengal said that city government and police officials would make a comprehensive security plan to ensure that Muslims marking the holy day in gatherings and processions could do so in safety. He said policemen and policewomen, Rescue 1122 officials and Civil Defence volunteers would perform security duties on the day.

The DCO instructed the officials concerned to arrange for lighting and to ensure there are no problems with the water supply at Karbala Gamay Shah, the end point for the largest Muharram procession.

He also directed officials to immediately remove any banners bearing hate messages and to take action against those responsible for putting them up.

Mengal asked the Shia representatives to end gatherings and processions on time and to cooperate with the local administration.

The Shia representatives identified various sections of broken road on the route of the processions. The DCO instructed the officials concerned to patch up the roads and install missing manhole covers.

On the request of the Shia representatives, the DCO asked the police representatives at the meeting to deploy educated and well-mannered policemen at checkpoints leading to the processions.

The participants in the meeting also prayed for the late Shakir Hussain Rizvi, a prominent lawyer who was gunned down in Lahore a few weeks ago.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2012.