Eid celebrations toned down in Belagavi

People maintaining social distancing while offering prayers at a mosque in Belagavi on Saturday.

Eid Ul Adha was celebrated in a simple manner across the district due to the rising COVID-19 scare and restrictions imposed by the State government and district administration.

The Eidgah committee had framed rules as per the government protocol and distributed pamphlets and sent messages to each masjid committee. The prayer timings were staggered and multiple prayers were held. Each time, a batch of 50 were allowed into mosques. Volunteers tested everyone with thermal scanners before letting them in.

Prayers offered

Hafiz Abdul Razak, who spoke at the Friday mosque, urged the faithful to pray for the quick recovery of all infected persons and for the end of the epidemic.

Abdul Gafar Gheewala, chairman of the district Waqf board, congratulated volunteers who were helping the affected persons in their homes.

In Hukkeri, former vice-chairman of the town municipal council said that families were forced to spend the day at home, due to the rising scare of the epidemic. We have not invited guests or relatives to our houses. We celebrated the festival among members of the immediate family. But that is to ensure the disease does not spread, he said. Open air prayers were cancelled after the government banned all outdoor gatherings.