India celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr on Saturday with people, dressed in traditional finery, offering prayers at mosques and Eidgahs, and families coming together for feasts.
Eid-ul-Fitr marks the end of the fasting month of Ramzan.
In Delhi, a large number of people congregated at the historical Jama Masjid around 6:30 am to offer namaz. The special Eid prayers at Fatehpuri Masjid, Eidgah and Sunehri Masjid also drew large crowds.
People greeted each other after the prayers and took part in the festivities. Shops in the city’s main markets, especially those around Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk, did brisk business as people shopped for the festival.
While the festive spirit was palpable elsewhere in Jammu and Kashmir, residents of Sangiote village skipped the pomp and show as they grieved the death of five Army soldiers in a terrorist attack in Poonch.
The soldiers were killed on Thursday after unidentified terrorists attacked their truck and it caught fire. The truck was carrying vegetables, fruits and other items for an iftar gathering scheduled to be held in Sangiote on Thursday evening.
Sangiote has a population of more than 3,500 and over 60 per cent of the men are ex-servicemen.
“We just offered prayers. People are saddened by the death of jawans who were bringing material for our iftar on Thursday evening,” Sangiote village head Mukhtiar Khan told PTI over phone from his home.
In Kashmir, the largest congregation of devotees was witnessed at the Hazratbal shrine on the banks of the Dal lake where former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah was among the notable persons to offer prayers.
