The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Proposal for Id prayers on BBMP grounds may be approved today

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 17, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Proposal for Id prayers on BBMP grounds may be approved today

Afshan Yasmeen

Bakrid is scheduled for December 21

BBMP order says playgrounds should be used for sports and games only
15 applications seeking permission for prayers at maidans kept in abeyance

BANGALORE: Muslims are a worried lot these days. With hardly a week left for Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid), the city’s Muslims are unsure of whether they will be able to offer Id namaaz (prayers) on Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) playgrounds in their areas as usual.

This is because the civic body has kept in abeyance more than 15 applications submitted by heads of local masjid committees of Muslim-dominated areas in the city urging BBMP to permit them to use the grounds for Id prayers. This has upset the community members, who have been offering Id prayers on BBMP playgrounds for years now. Apart from more than 50 Idgah maidans (Id prayer grounds), they use the BBMP playgrounds to offer prayers on Bakrid and Ramzan festival days.

Though the applications for the grounds were submitted two months ago, there has been no response from the BBMP.

“With Bakrid scheduled on December 21, we are really worried. We have been following the tradition of offering namaaz on open grounds for the past 13 years in Fraser Town. If our request to use the Bangalore East Football Ground adjacent to the East Railway Station is not considered, we do not know where to offer namaaz,” Mohammed Haroon Sait Saleem, convenor of the Muslim Welfare Association Eidain Committee - Fraser Town, told The Hindu.

He said the file pertaining to the grant of permission to use the playgrounds for prayers has been moving from office to office for the last 15 days. “We have been made to run from the office of the joint commissioner (welfare) to the commissioner’s office. The case worker told us that the joint commissioner had sought certain clarifications and that the file was sent to the commissioner for his approval on Saturday,” he said.

Sources in BBMP said that it would be difficult for the civic body to grant permission because the former commissioner, K. Jairaj, had issued an order prohibiting the use of BBMP playgrounds for any other purposes except sports and games.

“This has put us in a fix as we are not allowing any events on the playgrounds,” the sources said.

A similar situation had arisen in September when the Ramzan prayers had to be offered.

However, the matter was resolved after a delegation of Muslim leaders met the then Chief Minister, H.D. Kumaraswamy, and urged him to intervene and get the BBMP order revoked.

BBMP Playgrounds Supervisor P. Chandrappa said that a proposal had been put up before the commissioner and it would be approved by Monday. “There is no need to worry,” he added.

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