Ajmer priests not to help Pakistanis in prayers

May 7, 2013

Ajmer_priests

Jaipur, May 7: Khadims (priests) at the dargah (shrine) of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer have decided not to assist Pakistani pilgrims in offering prayers at the shrine.

Several groups of khadims have decided to join the increasing protests against the killing of Sarabjit.

About 640 pilgrims from Pakistan will be visiting Rajasthan's Ajmer town later this week.

The pilgrims are expected to arrive in Ajmer May 12 to participate in the 801st Urs of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti.

Ahead of the Pakistanis' visit, various organisations -- including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Shiv Sena and the BJP -- have been staging demonstrations in Ajmer, some 150 km from Jaipur.

The Pakistani delegation is likely to stay here for a week.

"We have decided not to assist any of the Pakistani pilgrims in offering prayers at the shrine. Prayers are not possible without khadims. We demand that the Indian government does not provide visas to any of the pilgrims," said a khadim.

He added that the visit could be a conspiracy by the Pakistani government to increase communal disharmony in India.

Another khadim, Natik Chisty, said the anger is brewing over Sarabjit's death, so visa should not be granted to Pak pilgrims.

The Shiv Sena staged a protest May 2 at the Ajmer district headquarters, demanding withdrawal of visas to the Pakistani group coming to Ajmer.

The Yuva Jat Mahasabha has also threatened to show black flags to Pakistani citizens in Ajmer.

The Urs is the annual event commemorating the death anniversary of Sufi Saint Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti at the dargah (shrine built over the grave). The Urs features night-long singing of qawwalis, and is held over 15 days. This time, the Urs will be held May 7 to May 22.

About five lakh devotees from different parts of the world participate in this event. This year, it is estimated that over seven lakh people will visit the city for the Urs.

The spiritual head of the 13th sanctuary shrine of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti, Diwan Sayed Zainual Adebdin Ali Khan, had condemned the brutal attack that led to the death of Sarabjit Singh in a Lahore hospital, and said such an attack went against the tenets of Islam.

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News Network
June 8,2020

Panaji (Goa)/Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Bengaluru(Karnataka)/New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): With the government allowing the re-opening of restaurants and eateries from Monday, these establishments re-opened across several states on Monday including in Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, with necessary precautions in place amid COVID-19 crisis.

Restaurants reopened in Panaji today after relaxations in lockdown.

Speaking to ANI, Goa Hotel and Restaurant Association President, Gaurish Dhond said, "We expect that not more than 25 per cent of restaurants will reopen because our labour force is dependent upon migrant workers who have gone to their homes".

"Every guest will be checked with a thermal gun, we will provide them with a sanitizer and a digital menu most probably. We would like to request our customers to pay online. Residential hotels are also allowed to operate and guidelines have been issued for them," he added.

Bars are not allowed to operate, he added.

While religious places across the country were thrown open today, worship places continued to remain closed in Goa till June 30.

In Bhopal restaurants opened but with fewer customers venturing to eat outside.

Speaking to ANI, C Kumaran, Manager, India Coffee House, New Market said, "We will conduct a temperature check for customers at the entry point. Then the customers will have to wash and sanitize their hands only then they will be allowed to sit inside. Only two persons will be allowed to sit on a four-seat table."

"This restaurant has a seating capacity of around 120 persons which has now been reduced to 50. Even in the kitchen, staff capacity has been reduced to 50 per cent," he added.

Meanwhile, malls re-opened in Bengaluru today, people along with staff members were allowed to enter inside Garuda Mall while maintaining social distancing.

"As per government norms, we are following all the preventive measures. Staff and other people are being sanitized and then only allowed inside the mall. The mall has been deep cleaned. People entering the mall should have Aarogya Setu App installed in their mobile phones if not, they will be sent back," said John Joseph, Manager, Garuda Mall.

Restaurants re-opened in the national capital as Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announced yesterday that all restaurants and malls are allowed to resume operations from today.

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News Network
March 27,2020

Mumbai, Mar 27: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday said that Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has taken note of the global economic activity coming to a near standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic and added that large parts of the world could slip into recession in the coming days to the coronavirus crisis.
"The MPC noted that global economic activity has come to a near stand-still as COVID-19 related lockdowns and social distancing are imposed across a widening swath of affected countries. Expectations of a shallow recovery in 2020, from 2019's decade low in global growth, have been dashed," Das said.
"The outlook is now heavily contingent upon the intensity, spread and duration of the pandemic. There is a rising probability that large parts of the world will slip into recession," he added.
The RBI Governor further added that "the implied GDP growth of 4.7 per cent in Quarter 4 of 2019-20, in the second advance estimates of the National Statistics Office which was released in February 2020, within the annual estimate of 5 per cent for the year as a whole is now at risk."
As per the outlook for the year 2020-21, Das said, "Apart from continuing resilience of agriculture and allied activities most other sectors of the economy will be adversely impacted by the pandemic depending upon, its intensity, spread and duration."
Das also announced a reduction in the repo and reverse repo rates for banks.
"The repo rate has been reduced by 75 basis points to 4.4 per cent. The reserve repo rate has been reduced by 90 basis points to 4 per cent," Das said addressing the media.
The decision for "a sizeable reduction" in the policy repo rate, according to the RBI Governor was taken to "revive growth and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and ensure financial stability." 

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News Network
January 15,2020

New Delhi, Jan 15: The mother of 23-year-old paramedic student, who was raped and brutally assaulted by six men in December 2012, on Tuesday said she knew that the curative petitions of the convicts will be rejected and is confident that they will be hanged on January 22.

Her remarks came after the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay the execution of two of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case while dismissing their curative petitions against their conviction and capital punishment.

"The curative please had to be rejected. This was the third time they had gone to the Supreme Court. Whatever pleas they file, we are ready to face them and we will fight it out. We feel that they will be hanged on January 22. We want that to happen," Nirbhaya's mother told PTI over phone.

The four convicts -- Vinay Sharma (26), Mukesh Kumar (32), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) -- are to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail as a Delhi court issued their death warrants on January 7.

Vinay and Mukesh had filed curative petitions on January 9.

Shortly after the apex court refused to stay the execution of two of them, Mukesh moved a mercy petition before President Ram Nath Kovind.

Mukesh also approached the Delhi High Court for quashing the death warrant. The high court is expected to take up his petition on Wednesday.

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