Hyderabad gears up for Muharram

Hyderabad: The new Islamic Year Hijri 1443 starts with Muharram, the second holiest month in the Islamic calendar, on Wednesday. In Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts, there are 300 ashoorkhanas and they have been cleaned and painted for processions and observance of Muharram.

The government has not restricted the number of people this year, but urged everyone to follow Covid appropriate behaviour. There are sanitisers and masks placed outside ashoorkhanas and notices for following protocols have been put up. The Wakf Board officials asked mutavalis (caretakers) to ensure that the number of people in congregations are limited.

Mir Hadi Ali, president of All India Shia Organisation, said, "There was minimal participation last year, people are eagerly looking forward to observing Muharram this year. We appeal to the government that the Bibi ka Alam original time must be kept on the last day so that maximum people can participate."

Bibi ka Alam is at Dabeerpura which is one of the highly revered processions of Muharram.

In Muharram meeting with state government officials, amounts sanctioned for maintenance of Ashoorkhanas were to be paid online. Ali says, "The government should have ideally paid all the sanctioned amounts beforehand but they always do it on the 7th or 10th day of Muharram. We appeal to them to give these amounts on time as smaller Ashoorkhanas do not have any budget and they find it difficult to meet the cost of cleaning and maintenance."    

In Ranga Reddy district, there are many small Ashoorkhanas which are frequented by different communities and they come from morning till late night. At Maula Ali in Ranga Reddy district, believers start coming from 6 am to 10 pm.