This community celebration is the epitome of \'Hum Hai Hyderabadi\'

Hyderabad: People from the Hindu and Muslim communities at Chaderghat have come together to erect an arch that displays greetings for Dasara and the upcoming Milad un Nabi.

The message on the top portion of the arch reads, "Hum Hai Hyderabadi, We Love Peace", and the greetings for both festivals are written on the arms of the arch, which is erected on the main road from Malakpet to Dilsukhnagar.

Sunil Dutt, DCP, East Zone, told Deccan Chronicle that both parties initially wanted to set up their own arches. Because this could have caused a problem, they held discussions with both parties and decided to erect a single arch. "We could persuade them through continuous dialogue and making them aware of the pros and cons. They had also agreed to the proposal and worked together to construct the arch. This demonstrates how we can celebrate festivals together and peacefully,” he said.

This community celebration was inspired by an incident that occurred during the Durga idol procession in 2021. Both festivals were held in the same week at the time, which caused friction between the two parties.

Timely intervention by Chaderghat police resolved the issue at the time. Because both festivals fell within a short period of time this year, the issue resurfaced, and both parties began making plans to erect their own arches. 

During the preparatory meetings, when police realised the situation was becoming serious, they summoned both parties, held a series of meetings, and counselled them until they agreed that a single arch would be built for both communities. As a result, the arch was built, and the cost was split equally by both parties.