Prayer gatherings were held in many Ashoorkhanas, with congregants dressed in black as a sign of mourning
Hyderabad: Ashoorkhanas across Hyderabad, especially in the Old City, are being readied for the Tenth Day of Muharram, a day of solemn observance for Shia Muslims.
Prayer gatherings were held in many Ashoorkhanas, with congregants dressed in black as a sign of mourning. The grand procession, which draws large crowds of devotees, includes many who fast and perform matam (ritual chest-beating), will begin from Bibi ka Alawa after the Zuhr prayers, proceed with the Alam mounted on an elephant through Yakutpura, Alijah Kotla, Charminar, Gulzar Houz, Mir Chowk, Mir Alam Mandi, Zehranagar, Darul Shifa and Imliban, and conclude at Chaderghat.
On Saturday, committees overseeing the shrines were busy finalising arrangements while police and other government agencies inspected the sites to ensure security and crowd management. Representing the state government, BC welfare and transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar, accompanied by Waqf Board chairman Azmatullah Hussaini and other leaders, visited Bibi ka Alawa in Dabeerpura, from where the city’s main Bibi ka Alam procession will set out.
Prabhakar told reporters that, on the instructions of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, all necessary facilities, including the traditional elephant-led segment of the march, have been arranged.
