Hyderabad: Thousands celebrate ‘Prakash Utsav’ with religious fervour

Hyderabad: The Prakash Utsav to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru, concluded on Tuesday with thousands of people celebrating the festival with religious fervour, gaiety and devotion.

The major attraction of the concluding event of the three-day celebration was the presence of 25,000 Sikh devotees in the Vishaal Deewan at Exhibition Ground, Nampally.

Minister K.T. Rama Rao released a book on the teachings of Guru Nanak in Telugu language. He assured the community that the government would extend support in addressing their pending issues such allocation of land for construction of a gurudwara in Mokila on city outskirts. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao would lay the foundation stone soon, he said. The long pending regularisation of land in Sikh Chawni, Kishanbagh would be sorted out shortly. The government would call for a meeting with senior Sikh representatives and see that matter is resolved at the earliest, the minister said. Union minister of state for home G. Kishan Reddy recalled the sacrifices made by the Sikh community for the country.