By Mumtaz Alam and Atif Jaleel, India Tomorrow,
New Delhi, 22 Feb 2014: Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the centre has come out with an ambitious plan to renovate the Ajmer Dargah of sufi saint Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. It could be another measure of the government to please Muslims before the polls.
Every year, lakhs of people from in and outside India visit the Dargah in Ajmer district of Rajasthan. The complex of the shrine, however, lacks basic facilities like sanitation and residential accommodation facilities for outsiders.
The Dargah Committee, a constitutional body which runs under the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, has come out with a renovation plan to address these problems of the pilgrims.
Briefing the press about the plan here on Saturday, Mohamed Obaidullah Sharieff, president of the 10-member Dargah Committee, said: “The Dargah Committee was formed 10 months back. The committee has chalked out a plan for development and beautification of Dargah. We are trying to provide all facilities to pilgrims at the Dargah.”
One of the biggest problems that pilgrims face here is a shortage of toilets. To address the problem, the committee has built a block where 35 toilets have been erected and 55 others are under construction, informed the Dargah Committee president who was accompanied with 6 members. The committee has also marked an area for construction of 100 more toilets.
Tens of thousands of people visit the dargah during Urs celebration once in a year. The doors of the shrine complex are narrow resulting in huge jams. The committee’s plan includes widening of the gates. However, the work will start after the Urs due in May this year.
While overwhelming majority of pilgrims are women there is no arrangement for them to offer prayers. The committee will utilize the roofs of the rooms in front of the shrine for women pilgrims to offer prayers.
“We are making arrangement on the roofs where around 4000 women can offer prayers at one time,” said Obaidullah Sharieff.
Asked about funds to carry out the plan, Sharieffs said the committee has a fixed deposit of around Rs 6.5 crore which they may use for the purpose.
The Dargah Committee was set up under the Dargah Khwaja Saheb Act 1955. Its responsibilities include maintenance of the entire shrine, protection and care of all properties of Dargah Committee, organizing Urs and providing all facilities to pilgrims.
To formalize the plan and make an official announcement about other measures, the Dargah Committee is holding a meeting on 26 Feb which will be chaired by Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan.
