Nocturnal fire erupted in highly revered Khankhah-e-Moula Shrine in Old City which resulted in damage to the upper portion of the wooden structure. Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, who visited the shrine, has directed conduct of safety audit of shrines and sought a detailed appraisal from the local administration regarding the fire incident at Khankhah.Local residents told news agency GNS that during overnight rains at around 1:00 am, lightening struck the area and after few minutes they found minaret of the shrine in fire. The locals said that a unit of Fire and Emergency Services department near the shrine swung into action and shortly other fire tenders started to arrive.An official said that fire tenders from across the Srinagar were dispatched to Khankhah for firefighting. “We sensed sensitivity of the matter and acted quickly. The incident of Dastgeer sahib is still fresh in our minds,” he said, adding that nearly two dozen fire tenders and pumps were used in dousing the blaze. The locals of the area and adjacent localities also rushed to the spot and helped the firemen to douse the fire.
According to eyewitnesses, the fire was brought under control in 45 minutes. They said that only upper portion of the shrine was damaged in the fire and a major part was saved. “Only minaret was destroyed. We saved the rest,” said a fire service department official. According to officials, locals played extra-ordinary role in dousing the fire by helping firefighters. The locals of the area were awake throughout the night and in the morning, sea of people arrived at Khankhah to assess the situation.Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti this morning rushed here and visited the shrine of Hazrat Amir-e-Kabeer Mir Syed Ali Hamdani (R.A.). Cancelling all her engagements, Mehbooba Mufti air dashed to Srinagar early morning and straight away drove to the shrine of saint in the Old City. The Chief Minister went round various areas of the shrine complex to assess the quantum of damage. She sought a detailed appraisal from the local administration regarding the fire incident.Interacting with the members of the management committee and devotees, Mehbooba Mufti said the shrine of Hazrat Amir i Kabir (R.A.) symbolizes the pluralistic ethos of Kashmir society from which every citizen of the State draws spiritual solace. The Chief Minister expressed her deep appreciation for the local youth who came forward and prevented the fire from spreading.
On the occasion, people of the area demanded installation of CCTVs in the shrine complex, availability of fire tenders in the locality, scientific protection to the wood structures at the shrine and expediting shrine expansion plan.Later, chairing a high-level meeting to review the safety and protection of all the shrines of the Valley in the backdrop of last night’s fire incident at, the Chief Minister directed all concerned Departments like Wakf Board, Fire & Emergency Services, PDD, PHE, Police, SMC and other related Department to jointly conduct the safety audit of all the shrines and come up with whatever precautionary measures are required to protect these places of reverence.Minister for Education, Syed Altaf Bukhari; Minister of State for Health & Medical Education, Asiea Naqash and MLC, Khursheed Alam were present in the meeting. Mehbooba Mufti directed installation of fire hydrants, smoke alarms, CCTVs and other precautions to prevent fire occurrence at any shrine in the State. The Chief Minister, who is also the chairperson of the Wakf Board, directed immediate start of restoration work at the Khanqah i Mou’la shrine and complete it within the shortest period. She asked the INTACH to come up with the drawings within two days so that restoration work is started.
She said money would be no constraint in the completion of restoration works at the shrine, which she described as civilizational soul for the people of the State. Mehbooba Mufti noted with satisfaction that with the joint efforts of the local administration and people of the area, the fire at the shrine complex was not let to spread. She expressed her deep appreciation for the local youth who came forward and prevented the fire from spreading while directing the local administration to prepare list of such volunteers so that they would be suitably rewarded.The Chief Minister was informed that regular prayers at the shrine would commence from Thursday after completing the cleaning, drying of floor and laying of new furnishing at the shrine. On the occasion, the INTACH and JKPCC offered to do restoration job at the shrine free of cost in view of the importance of the shrine for the people of the State. The meeting decided that Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar would monitor and supervised the restoration works at the shrine personally to get these completed in time.Scores of youth resorted to massive pro-freedom and pro-Islam sloganeering at Khankhah-e-Moulla today when Chief Minister was leaving after assessing the damage at the shrine. Senior resistance leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik separately visited Khankhah. Many other resistance activists and leaders also visited the shrine. (GNS)