Pahadishareef devotees stare at arduous climb

Pahadishareef: Even this year, the annual Urs at the famous hilltop dargah of Pahadishareef, home to shrine of HazrathSyedna Baba Sharfuddin Saheb Qibla Soharvardi is scheduled on March 30. This time also the devotees will have to climb all the 360 stairs, as the authorities failed to complete the ramp work.

The CC road ramp works which were marked to be completed before last year's annual Urs stand incomplete as the authorities didn't release funds.

The Telangana State Education Women and Infrastructure Development Corporation (TSEWIDC), said that the works at Pahadishareef is stopped from six months now. "A bill of on-going works of was given to Telangana State Wakf Board last year, but the amount has not been released. If the Wakf released the amount the works would have been completed on time," said the officer on the request of anonymity.

On Tuesday, AIMIM General Secretary and Yakutpura MLA Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri also raised the issue of incomplete ramp works of Pahadishareef as well as Maula Ali. Pasha Quadri appealed to the government to complete the works as soon as possible.

In order to ease the efforts of devotees who have to climb 360 steps to reach hilltop for ziyarath, a representation asking for a ramp was made by MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi in 2017.

By now only 75 per cent of the works is completed, and the remaining works are yet to be taken up. "I had appealed to the government and the Minority Welfare Minister to complete the works at least before this year's Urs," noted the MLA.

Dargah custodian Peerzada Syed Moinuddin recalled that during his last year's (2020) inspection TSWB Chairman Mohammed Saleem assured that the ramp would be completed before the annual Urs which was held in March. "Despite this, the Urs celebrations last year were conducted without a ramp and the same is the case this year as well," he added.

Speaking to The Hans India, Peerzada Syed Moinuddin said that a total of 875 meters of ramp was sanctioned but by now only 400 meters of ramp works is completed and the remaining is still pending. Even this year the devout attending the Urs will have to take hundreds of steps and the promise made by the Chairman remains unfulfilled."