Eid-Ul-Adha 2022: Devotees Offer Namaz Across States on Bakri Eid; Security Amped Up in Cities

People across states were seen offering namaz and celebrating on the occasion of Bakri Eid (Eid-al-Adha) on Sunday. Prime Minister Narendra also extended his wishes on the festival, saying that it inspired people to work towards the good of humankind.

?Eid Mubarak! Greetings on Eid-ul-Adha. May this festival inspire us to work towards furthering the spirit of collective well-being and prosperity for the good of humankind,? he said in a post on Twitter.

Security Ramped Up

Meanwhile, security was also ramped up in a few states to prevent the occurrences of any untoward incidents on the occasion. Police in UP reached out to the people of the Muslim community asking them to refrain from slaughtering animals in the open, and anywhere except the designated spots, PTI reported on Saturday. To intimate them about the prohibition, over 6,000 meetings were held across the state with the leaders of the community, police said in a statement.

Mathura Police, too, is reported to have made ?extensive security arrangements? in preparation for the Mudiya Purnima fair and Eid-ul-Adha, India Today reported.

While the five-day Mudiya Purnima fair attracts a large number of Krishna devotees to Mathura and the surrounding Braj region, the Muslim community provides ?Qurbani? throughout the three-day Eid-ul-Adha festival. Rajiv Krishna, Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Agra Zone, has directed all police chiefs in the zone to meet with local peace committee members and inform them of the government?s guidelines to ensure that these festivals are peaceful.

The UP government also imposed Section 144 in Lucknow on Saturday in anticipation of festivals such as Eid-ul-Adha (Bakrid), Muharram, Kanwar Yatra, and Nagpanchami, Times Now reported. Lucknow Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP), law and order, Piyush Mordia, issued an order on July 9, 2022, stating that loudspeakers in religious places should be restricted to their premises.

Meanwhile, in preparation for the festival, Jamshedpur police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel had also held a flag march on Saturday. The police contingent marched through various sensitive areas of the Mango and Sakchi police stations. A similar march was organised around the city?s communally sensitive areas, Avenuemail said in a report.

Celebrations Galore

But celebrations have been peaceful since the morning of the big festival. Devotees were seen offering namaz and congratulating each other. Other political leaders had also wished people ahead of the celebrations. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had greeted people of the state for Bakri Eid (Eid-al-Adha): ?The auspicious festival of Bakri Eid gives the message of devotion, love, brotherhood and sacrifice. The festival has given wider thought to the welfare of the less privileged people. The thought is eternally relevant.?

?I extend my heartiest greetings to the people of Maharashtra, especially to Muslim brothers and sisters, on the happy occasion of Bakri Eid,? a Raj Bhavan statement quoted the governor as saying.

Some visuals of the celebrations:

?Rare Goats for Sale?

Among hundreds of goats up for sale on the day of Eid al-Adha in the famous Meena Bazar in Delhi, three stood out with price tags bearing a six-figure sum. Their owners claim that the goats have inscribed on their coats Muhammad? and Allah?- the two most venerated words in the Muslim community.

Adorned with anklets made of jasmine and roses, and robed in expensive cloth, the three goats drew everyone?s attention the moment they entered the market. Two of them are a year old each, and the third one is two years old.

Guddu Khan, 35, the proud owner of the older goat, has priced it at Rs 30 lakh, even as he claims that his goat is priceless. ?They are rare goats. Nowhere to be seen. They are priceless. These goats have Muhammad? and Allah? inscribed on them,? Guddu, who has come from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, said. The other two goats, looking no less handsome, belong to his brother and nephew, who have fixed their price at Rs 15 lakh each. Akhil Khan, Guddu?s nephew, is getting married on July 11, but that didn?t stop him coming to the famous Old Delhi market from over 100-km away neighbouring town.

?I raised her for over a year. I am sure I will be able to get Rs 15 lakh for her. We have fed them well and they are special because they have god?s name inscribed on them,? Akhil said. The three merchants said they were hopeful to make a sale by evening. Akhil said that last year too he had sold a goat for Rs 12 lakh.

?I will sell them by the evening. Even yesterday, a goat was sold for Rs 35 lakh here,? he said. The ?Bakra Mela? has returned to Meena Bazaar ? the most famous shopping hub for Eid in the national capital ? after two years of COVID-imposed lull, with merchants flocking from all over north India to sell off their best livestock. Around 100 tents have been pitched in Urdu Park and Hauz, which are located on either side of Meena Bazaar. Both areas which are lined up with shops, selling mostly garment, were emptied for the 10-day ?mela? to accommodate the livestock. When asked how the prices of goats are decided, Sunny Sarohah, 21, from Haryana?s Sonipat district said it depends on the animal?s features ? weight, looks, and height.

Their prices skyrocket if they carry a mark resembling a star or a crescent moon, he added. Even with such top notch sales figures, the market, traders claimed, continues be in post-COVID slump with business going down by more than 50 per cent. I?ve been running this shop for the last 20 years. Business that was hit by the pandemic, is yet to return to normalcy, said Mohammad Tabrez, 28, a garment shop owner. This market used to buzz with the public during the week of Eid before the pandemic but it has changed now. However, it is better this year as compared to the last two years.

With inputs from PTI

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