Organisers await govt's nod for hosting Eid namaz on Red Road

KOLKATA: Calcutta Khilafat Committee (CKC), which makes necessary arrangements for prayers, is awaiting the state government's nod for conducting Eid namaz on Red Road.

Last year, the open prayer session was not held on Red Road due to lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. The namaz was also not performed in Nakhoda mosque (Kolkata's biggest mosque), Tipu Sultan mosque and other mosques or Eidgahs.

During pre-COVID-19 pandemic years, about two lakh Muslims used to assemble at the biggest congregation on the Red Road (Indira Gandhi Sarani) to offer special prayers on the occasion of Eid-ul- Fitr.

"We have already sent a letter to Eastern Command last week. We are waiting for permission from the state government. If the state government allows, then Qari Fazlur Rahman will lead the namaz on Red Road maintaining COVID-19 protocols," said Mullick Mohammad Ishaque, a member of CKC.

The CKC started organising the Eid-ul-Fitr prayer at Shahid Minar ground in 1920, he added.

"Due to water-logging, we shifted the Eid-ul-Fitr namaz venue from Shahid Minar ground to Red Road 26 years ago," said Ishaque.

Depending on the sighting of the moon, Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated either on May 13 or May 14.