Vaishno Devi shrine in J&K prepared sehri, iftar for 500 quarantined Muslims during Ramzan
500 people were quarantined upon their arrival at Aashwirwad Bhavan, which has been an isolation facility since March.
Communal tension in the country has been prevalent for generations now, with presence of hate speech, violence, and clashes in the society that have put the lives of many Indians at stake.
In an extraordinary display of harmony, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in the small town of Katra, Jammu and Kashmir, prepared sehri and iftar for Muslims in the isolation ward at Aashirwad Bhawan. During the sacred month of Ramzan, about 500 members from the Muslim community were quarantined, restraining them from celebrating the auspicious season like they would have done in normal circumstances.
“In the month of Ramzan, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board had been working overnight to provide sehri and iftar to our Muslim brethren in the morning and the evening,” Ramesh Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of the Board, told Hindustan Times.
(Image: Hindustan Times)
Amid news of widespread communal conflict reported in the media, it is such acts of kindness that restore people’s faith in humanity. The facility, which has the capacity to accommodate 500 people, saw that the residents of the union territory who were returning from other places of the country were fasting in the month of Ramzan.
Besides making these arrangements, the shrine board has also been supplying meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to others who have been quarantined in other facilities across the region of Katra.
A video of the staff at the shrine serving food was also shared on Twitter by DD News where people can be seen abiding by the social distancing norm while standing in queues, awaiting their meal.
“The board has spent nearly Rs 80 lakh for providing food to the needy in various quarantine centres till March 20. They have also spent around Rs 1.5 crore in aiding COVID-19 response,” reported The Logical Indian.
Edited by Javed Gaihlot