Devotees observe annual urs at Dastageer Saheb shrine

Srinagar, January 22

The annual urs of 11th century Sufi saint Shaikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani, known as Peer Dastageer Saheb by devotees, was observed with religious fervour today.

Devotees thronged the shrines of the revered saint in the Khanyar and Sarai Bala areas of the city and offered prayers.

A caretaker of the Dastageer Saheb shrine at Sarai Bala said nightlong prayers were held at the shrine and there was no let up in the rush of devotees throughout the course of the day today.

He said ‘Qaseeda Gousia’ was recited in the wee hours after ‘fajr’ (pre-dawn prayers) following which the holy relic of Dastageer Saheb was displayed to the devotees. The caretaker said the hardcore devotees usually offer prayers at the shrine for 11 consecutive days to the urs. Both the shrines are devoted to 11th century Sufi saint whose actual memorial is located in Baghdad, Iraq. Even though the saint never visited Kashmir in person, he is highly revered by the locals.

Both the shrines wore festive look during the urs days and several stalls selling food items and other goods are set up outside.

An official said a joint team of senior officials of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, Public Health Engineering Department and Power Development Department had yesterday visited the Khanyar shrine to take stock of the arrangements. — TNS