by Umar Mukhtar
SRINAGAR: Sections within Kashmir are inching closer to mass infections by resorting to gathering with an avowed objective to ward off the Coronavirus infections. Some of these gatherings could easily be avoided.
Reports from south Kashmir suggested that the management of Khanqah-e-Faiz Panah in Dooru invited a huge gathering for Majlis-e-Toba, a gathering for mass repentance. They offered a joint prayer in the shrine mosque and later distributed Tehri, food produced by the community.
Thousands of people had joined the gathering. Though the prayers were held normally, the real tension could be the joint kitchen and the distribution of Tehri.
Prior to the prayers, the local clerics made speeches emphasising the remedial measures. They attributed the epidemic to sins. They did, however, emphasise that the faithful must ensure personal hygiene and pray five times a day.
However, the problem was the lunch that they distributed among the devotees. It was prepared in the community kitchen by the volunteers. There was a literal scramble over its distribution as well.
Authorities and experts have been asking to avoid gatherings that can push Kashmir to a real crisis. Some of them have been suggesting cancelling the gatherings for Friday congregations as well. Authorities have taken extreme precautions at all the three most important religious spots of Islam – the holy Kaaba, the Masjid-e-Nabwa and Masjid-e-Aqsa.
