200-yr-old Dastageer Sahib shrine gutted in Srinagar

Fire triggers protests by locals

PTI | June 25, 2012



The over 200-year-old shrine of Dastageer Sahib was on Monday gutted in a fire at Khanyar in old city, triggering protests by locals.

An official of the Disaster Management Cell said the fire broke out in the shrine of Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani around 6.30 am and engulfed the entire complex within no time.

"The shrine was made of wood ... the fire spread quickly and the complex has been gutted," the official said.

The official said the relics of the preacher, known as Ghaus-ul-Azam among the local populace and revered worldwide, are safe as these were retrieved from the fire-proof vault.

Fire tenders were rushed to the spot but the blaze spread very fast.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known but police is investigation the possibility of sabotage.

The fire in the shrine triggered protests by locals, sources said.

The sources said a group of protesters started pelting stones at fire tenders for their alleged "slow response" in controlling the fire.The protestors later attacked the nearby Khanyar police station by pelting stones at it.

Policemen fired several rounds of tear smoke shells to disperse the protestors, they said, adding additional police personnel have been deployed in the area to bring the situation under control.

The sources said curfew-like restrictions have been imposed in Khanyar and surrounding areas to prevent the law and order situation from deteriorating further.

Local residents claimed that police had announced imposition of curfew in the area but a police spokesman denied the allegation. "Curfew has not been imposed anywhere in the city," he said.

Senior police officers were monitoring the situation.

Comments

 

Other News

India calls for doubling bilateral trade with UK by 2030

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has called upon businesses in India and the United Kingdom to translate the opportunities created by the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) into expanded trade, investment, partnerships and job creation. Addressing the Bu

Gandhian movement after Gandhi failed: Ram Guha

The Gandhian movement in India, after Gandhi’s death, failed, says Ramachandra Guha, and blames Vinoba Bhave for it. But the movement found new, fertile grounds around the world and succeeded in bringing about a change in South Africa, the US and elsewhere. It is high time it returned home. Of cour

When religion, politics and Bollywood come together

Tavleen Singh, noted journalist and political commentator, has turned to fiction, with her debut novel ‘The Actor’ (HaperCollins India). Set in the near future, it has a superstar, Amit Singh, turning to politics, when the political landscape is dominated by prime minister Guru Gaynendraj

Cabinet approves setting up of Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority

The union cabinet, chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), called Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), to strengthen research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment within the broad domains of Transp

Why foundational literacy and numeracy is key to school education

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) are often described as the building blocks of education. Yet, their significance goes well beyond a child’s ability to read a sentence, write a response or solve a basic mathematical problem. These foundational skills shape how children understand the world,

When police data becomes the algorithm

For decades, policing has followed a familiar sequence: a crime occurs, the police respond, an investigation produces records and those records become part of the institutional memory of the criminal justice system. Artificial intelligence is beginning to alter that sequence. Instead of merely recording

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter