Muted Eid celebration in Assam due to Covid-19 outbreak

Guwahati, May 25 (PTI): Assam transport commissioner Adil Khan had never thought that there would be an Eid-ul-Fitr festival without any celebration and feast! But it has happened this time.

With flights resuming from Monday, Khan had to leave his home early morning for the airport and kept on shuffling between the railway station and the airport the entire day to ensure smooth movement of passengers coming by the two modes.

While entire Assam had a muted Eid-ul-Fitr celebration this year because of the lockdown to contain the spread of novel coronavirus, the bureaucrat could not even get time to celebrate the festival with his wife and little daughter because he chose duty over family.

Very few people had visited the markets for Eid shopping in the last few days due to a huge spike in Covid-19 positive cases in Assam.

Assam State Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind president and Lok Sabha member Badruddin Ajmal had requested people to follow the government norms to contain the spread of Covid-19 and asked all to offer namaz from their homes.

Entrepreneur Atiqur Rahman Barbhuiya said, his family did not go for shopping and distributed money to the poor people, who are suffering most in this lockdown period.

He termed this year’s Eid amid the lockdown as a “blessing in disguise” as women, who usually do not perform namaz at Masjids, were able to offer the special prayers with other male family members at home.

“I offered my Eid namaz with my daughter and son at home.

“Obviously it was a subdued Eid, but we followed ‘Roja’ and ‘Fitra’, which is giving donations to poor people,” Barbhuiya said.

With Eid excitement running low due to Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing lockdown, Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi had appealed to the people not to come out for gatherings but offer namaz from their homes. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal too had urged the people of Muslim community to follow social distancing norms and appealed them to pray for mankind in this critical time.