In remembrance: Ganj Bakhsh’s urs concludes amidst tight security

More than 1,500 police personnel deployed around the shrine.

LAHORE:

Devotees continued to throng to the 970th urs of Data Ganj Bakhsh on the concluding day on Tuesday.

The three-day urs concluded with prayers led by Maulana Mufti Muhammad Ramazan Sailvi.

Three sides the shrine were blocked for traffic for security reasons.

Devotees stood in long queues at all four gates of the shrine to gain admission.

Hundreds of people attended four samaa sessions (devotional music) and scholarly lectures at the grand hall of the Data Darbar Complex.

A Mehfil-i-naat and an Almi Mehfil Mushaira were also held during the urs.

The suspension of cellular phone service caused problems for some families.

Requests of men seeking to enter the women’s area to look for their families poured in at the Auqaf Department office.



Many milk fountains were setup outside the shrine. Milk and food were distributed during all three days. Tents were set up near the mosque and carpets were laid out for the thousands of people gathered in the area.

Hundreds of devotees brought traditional chaddar. These chaddars were handed over to the Data Darbar shrine authorities.

Devotees also danced to drums, having travelled from far-flung areas on foot to attend the urs. Some even appeared bare-foot.

Formal celebrations of the urs started after a chaddar was laid on the grave of Hazrat Ali Hajveri by federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

More than 1,500 police personnel were deployed for security duties around the shrine under the supervision of three superintendents, seven deputy superintendents, 19 station house officers and 189 senior officials.

As many as 180 private guards hired by the Auqaf Department also perfomed security duties.

The Auqaf Department had allocated Rs8 million for the urs. More than 134 CCTV cameras were installed at the shrine, 34 for security purposes and 80 for administrative use.

Around 14 walk-through gates were placed around the shrine on Friday. Every person was checked three times by policemen before entering the shrine where he would be checked again by a volunteer.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2013.