Hyderabad: Thousands of people from the city visiting the holy shrine of Persian Sufi saint Khwaja Moin-ud-din Chishti in Ajmer in view of the 813 Urs celebration in Ajmer will have to check-in themselves at private accommodations.
This is because the Telangana government, for the last 10 years, failed to make any progress in its plans to construct a ‘Rubat’, (a building that provides shelter for travellers and pilgrims) in Ajmer.
The Urs celebrations started on January 2 and will continue till January 10.
After Telangana was formed in 2014, the then chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) promised a rubat in Ajmer for the pilgrims. The then TRS government sanctioned Rs 5 crore for the project. But, it’s almost ten years with no progress.
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The minorities’ welfare department has not been able to take up work at the ground level for various reasons, although the state government had purchased a piece of land measuring about 5,000 sq. yards from the Ajmer development authority.
The minorities’ welfare department had sent several delegations at the government’s expense to explore the feasibility of the project. In fact, a foundation stone was laid by former CM KCR. However, the project did not make any headway and the government changed in 2023.
The then adviser to the government on minority affairs AK Khan stated that the government had already made plans for the construction of the building at Ajmer.
Former Telangana State Wakf Board chairman Mohd Saleem had time and again visited the Ajmer shrine and told the public that the project would be taken up at any cost. Similarly, BRS MLC Mohd Mahmood Ali who served as deputy CM and home minister during the BRS rule, also assured the same.
“Regimes have changed. Now Congress came to power. At least now the government should consider taking up the project in true spirit. Visitors will save at least some money if they get accommodation at a cheaper price,” said Akram Qureshi, a social worker from Old City who is heading to participate in the annual Urs at Ajmer shrine.
Similar demands are made by the people who are visiting the Ajmer Shrine. “It cannot be constructed overnight. Discussing the previous government’s intention is a waste of time, the present Congress government should sincerely follow it up,” demanded Shaik Waseem, a driver from First Lancer.
