People belonging to all walks of life converged to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr on Saturday and exchanged festive greetings with each other in Uttar Pradesh even as the chief minister appealed to revellers to take precautions amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath extended warm greetings and best wishes to the people of the state on the occasion. A tweet issued by the Chief Minister's Office said, "The CM has extended hearty greetings and best wishes to the people of the state on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. The chief minister said that the festival of Eid brings the message of happiness. This festival gives the message of peace and harmony."
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"On the occasion of Eid, everyone should take a pledge to further strengthen harmony. The chief minister has appealed to the people to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr by taking all precautions in view of the corona infection," the tweet added.
A senior police official said Eid prayers in the state passed off peacefully at all the 31,838 places. "Due to everyone's efforts and efficient management, no untoward incident has been reported anywhere," he said. Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar, in a statement, said, "Alvida namaz was offered at 29,439 mosques in the state, while Eid-ul-Fitr namaz was offered at 31,838 Eidgahs and mosques in the state.
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“In view of Eid-ul-Fitr and Alvida namaz, 2,933 sensitive places have been identified in all the districts of the state," he said. Kumar also informed that 249 companies of the PAC force, three companies of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), five CAFs and 7,000 under-training sub-inspectors were deployed for the safe conduct of Alvida namaz and Eid-ul-Fitr.
Apart from this, a team of women cops in plain clothes were deployed with body-worn cameras and binoculars. Drone cameras and high-powered CCTV cameras were also installed to monitor the prayer places, he said. In Lucknow, the special namaz marking the festival was held at the Aishbagh Eidgah where the old and young were seen embracing each other and exchanging greetings on the day.
Prominent among those who visited the Eidgah included Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav who stressed that the day marks brotherhood and social harmony. Mayoral and other candidates of Lucknow for the coming urban body elections belonging to different parties and Congress leaders were also seen at the Eidgah.
Earlier on Friday, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali, Sadar (Chairman) of Markazi Chand Committee Farangi Mahal and Qazi-e-Shahar, Idgah Lucknow, had announced that the moon has been sighted and Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on Saturday. On the last Friday of the month of Ramzan, the prayers of Zuma Alvida were offered by the Muslim community in the mosques of the state for which elaborate security arrangements were made.
