Eid-ul-Azha celebrated with gaiety in Andhra

Eid-ul-Azha was celebrated Wednesday with religious fervour and gaiety across Andhra Pradesh.

The day began with Muslims, attired in their best, offering Eid prayers at Eidgahs or open grounds and mosques in Hyderabad and 22 other districts of the state. After the prayers, Muslims sacrificed goats and other 'halal' animals commemorating the great sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim and urged Muslims to follow his teachings and the Holy Quran.

Also known as Bakrid or Eid-e-Qurban, it is the second major festival of Muslims. The meat of the sacrificed animals is distributed among neighbours, relatives and the poor. Muslims also exchanged greetings with relatives and friends and treated the visitors to their homes with sweet dishes. The biggest congregation in Hyderabad was held at historic Mir Alam Eidgah where over 200,000 people offered prayers. The historic Mecca Masjid witnessed the second biggest congregation. Prayers were also held in hundreds of mosques in the city.

Eid was also celebrated in Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Adilabad, Warangal, Vijayawada, Kurnool, Kadapa, Anantapur, Guntur and other towns of the state with people turning out in large numbers at Eidgahs and mosques to offer prayers. During their speeches before the prayers, the imams also prayed for peace and prosperity in the country. Muslims constitute about 10 percent of the state's 84.6 million population.