Around 80,000 offer prayers at Hazratbal as congregations held across Kashmir districts
Srinagar, Mar 13: Juma’atul Vida, the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramzan, was observed across Kashmir on Friday as thousands of people gathered in mosques and shrines for congregational prayers.
Officials said the largest gathering was recorded at the Hazratbal shrine on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar, where around 80,000 people offered prayers.
Former chief minister Farooq Abdullah was among those who offered prayers at the shrine.
Congregational prayers were held in mosques and shrines in several parts of the Valley, including Budgam, Anantnag, Baramulla, Kupwara, Pulwama, Shopian and Bandipora districts.
In Bandipora district, people gathered in mosques in areas including Gundpora and other villages to offer Juma’atul Vida prayers. Similar gatherings were reported from mosques in Baramulla and Kupwara districts where residents assembled for the congregational prayers.
People also offered prayers in mosques in Pulwama and Shopian districts, where large numbers of worshippers attended the congregations.
However, prayers were not allowed at the Jama Masjid in the Nowhatta area of Srinagar as the authorities closed the mosque for the seventh consecutive year on the occasion.
Officials said the congregational prayers were otherwise held in mosques and shrines across the Valley, with people participating in large numbers.
Juma’atul Vida marks the last Friday of Ramzan and holds significance for Muslims as people gather in mosques for prayers during the final days of the fasting month.
Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir Nasir-ul-Islam had said earlier that Juma’atul Vida would be observed on Friday.
He said Eid-ul-Fitr is expected to fall on March 20 or March 21 depending on the sighting of the crescent moon.
“After consultation with scholars, it was decided that Juma’atul Vida will be observed on March 13,” he had said.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir administration declared a public holiday on Friday to mark the occasion.
An order issued by the General Administration Department said government offices and educational institutions across the Union Territory would remain closed on account of Juma’atul Vida.(KNS).
