Eid-ul-Zuha celebrated amid religious fervour

PATNA: The Muslim community in the city celebrated Eid-ul-Zuha, the festival of sacrifice, with religious fervour on Wednesday.Eid prayers were offered at Gandhi Maidan, different mosques and Eidgahs in the city by thousands of Muslim devotees. At Gandhi Maidan, the namaz was performed at 8am amid tight security. After offering prayers, people embraced each other and exchanged greetings. Thanks to elaborate arrangements made by district administration, traffic movement was smooth around Gandhi Maidan in the morning. While water tankers and water ATMs were installed around the Maidan, six ambulances with paramedical staff had also been stationed there to meet any eventuality.People turned up from different localities of the city to offer namaz at the historic Gandhi Maidan. Kankerbagh resident Nizam Khan, who offered prayers at Gandhi Maidan along with his friends, said, “We have come here to pray with a larger crowd under the open sky. We also plan to visit Sabzibagh which is famous for its kebab,” Khan said. New Pataliputra Colony resident Ghazala Siddiqui, who had prepared all Eid delicacies a night before, said, “After the namaz and sacrifice, it becomes difficult to cook other dishes, such as sewaiyan and chat. Hence, I cooked all these dishes on Tuesday night. As we have friends from all communities, we keep purely vegetarian items ready to serve them,” she said.The meat from the sacrifice is shared among friends, family and given as alms to the poor. “Hoards of people line up asking for alms. Nobody is returned empty handed,” New Pataliputra resident Syed Hasan said.