With the stream of pilgrims from Pakistan pouring in, 91 pilgrims from the neighbouring country arrived here on Tuesday to participate in the 750th annual Urs (death anniversary) fair being held at the fabled Piran Kaliyar shrine near Roorkee which started on Monday. Nearly 20 km away from Haridwar, the religious congregation held on the bank of the Ganga Canal sees a huge throng of pilgrims every year.
Revered as a shrine visiting which the desires of the devout are fulfilled, Kaliyer Sharif which is the burial place of a Sufi saint Alla Uddin Ali Ahmad Sabir sees hundreds of Pakistani Zaireens gathering at the place every year.
This year being no exception, the local police and administration have put into place elaborate security arrangements to ensure that the fair passes off peacefully. The pilgrims from Pakistan say that they come here after shedding the animosity involving the two neighbouring countries haunting the bilateral relation for years, a gesture which the people here warmly reciprocate through large-hearted hospitality. The same picture was visible on Tuesday morning. The locals welcomed the group of 91 Zaireens warmly with garlands once it reached the Piran Kaliyar Sharif by Amritsar Express. The pilgrims have given the same message as they say that they have come here with message of brotherhood from the people of Pakistan. Among those who welcomed them were the joint magistrate Nitika Khandelwal and the mela in-charge Manoj Semwal.A beaming Abdul Gaffar Farooqui who is leading the group of the pilgrims said that they were happy being here.
Meanwhile, the district administration has completed all arrangements for the mega religious congregation. To facilitate the pilgrims, the district administration has put up shelters, shops, toilets and tents aside from lighting the mela area. “All arrangements have been put into place to ensure that the people coming here do not face the least of difficulty while on the pilgrimage,” said a senior district officer who is monitoring the arrangements.
Adequate number of buses for Pakistani Zaireens along with the currency exchange facility at the banks has been made, he added.The locals who welcomed the pilgrims said that they were elated over the guests emanating the same sentiment of love, peace and brotherhood. “It is difficult to imagine that the relation between the two neighbours remains bitter and people are dying because of the animosity involving the two countries,” said one of them. Mohammand Shah Hasan, a pilgrim from Pakistan said while talking to The Pioneer that the common man (awam) has been searching for the Aman and Mohabbat (peace and love) over the past seven decades. “We are impatiently waiting for the time when the two neighbours would live in peace. This is what the shrine embodies” Another pilgrim from Lahore said that his long-nurtured dream of having a darshan of the revered Piran Kaliyar has been fulfilled. “I am overwhelmed. Besides, the warm welcome we have received here we would never forget,” he added. They said that they would return after spending a week in Roorkee.
