3.9.17

Somewhere in Uttarakhand....

It's been pouring in the higher reaches of Uttarakhand for the past week. Saturday was no different, with parts of Joshimath in Chamoli getting flooded.

Muslims, who had started gathering in large numbers since morning for the Bakr id namaaz, found that Gandhi Maidan, the open ground they have traditionally been using in Joshimath, was under water. There is no mosque nearby that could be used as an alternative.Help came from the Sikhs who offered their gurdwara nearby .

The offer was immediately taken up and some 1,000 grateful Muslims from Joshimath, Govindghat and Pipalkoti offered their Eid namaaz on the gurdwara's premises, in peace and relative dryness. Yogendra Singh (SDM, Joshimath), inspector Sanjay Kumar and members of the gurdwara management committee had earlier reached the venue and organised space for the prayers. They remained till the last namaazi had filed out. Buta Singh, manager of the Joshimath Gurdwara Committee, said, “There is no mosque in the area and the Eid namaaz is offered in an open ground, at Gandhi Maidan, which is less than a kilometre from our gurdwara. On getting to know that the ground was flooded, the management came forward to offer assistance. That was the least we could do.“

Mohammad Aslam, who sells vegetables in Joshimath, said, “This act by the gurdwara committee displays true spirit of brotherhood. They saw to it that we were given proper space and time for namaaz. This should be emulated by everyone.“

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