On the first day of the holy month of Ramzan, Muslims in various parts of Delhi stepped out on Saturday morning to buy essential items with local mosques shut asking devotees to observe the fast and stay indoors.
Meanwhile, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari on Saturday extended greetings to the community on the occasion and urged them to stay indoors.
However, the festivities won't be the same this year due to the lockdown situation necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic.
In northeast Delhi’s Jaffrabad, which is a Muslim-domimated area, people stepped out in the morning to buy essentials. “Many of the shops are closed. We had stepped out to buy milk, khajla and vermicelli for sehri but most of the shops were closed and wherever they were available, they were expensive. On Friday we were not able to buy these items due to crowd,” said Anjum, a resident of the area.
Arsalan, another resident in the area, said that owing to the lockdown, our unit is closed and there is also cash crunch, so festival might be celebrated lightly this time. “Every year, we go to the mosque for iftar but this year, we are worried about where will we go for iftar,” he said.
Kashif Mirza, a resident of Jama Masjid area in Old Delhi, said, “We stepped out only to buy essential goods like vermicelli but followed social distancing norms. Announcement was made from Jama Masjid that we should pray inside homes and not step out. We are missing the festivities and meeting people but hopefully things will be fine next year.”
In Hauz Qazi, the social distancing between the people was not visible due to congested and narrow lanes as people stepped out to buy essentials during morning hours.
According to a senior police official, flag marches were conducted in Chandni Mahal area and announcements were made asking people to stay indoors. He said that even local mosques in Old Delhi urged people to stay inside and pray.