The widows of Vrindavan playing Holi on Tuesday at the historic Gopinath temple in Vrindavan (Express Photo/Gajendra Yadav/Representational) The widows of Vrindavan playing Holi on Tuesday at the historic Gopinath temple in Vrindavan (Express Photo/Gajendra Yadav/Representational)

The Imam of Aishbagh Eidgah in Lucknow on Tuesday said he has urged all mosques in the city to postpone the timing for Friday namaz in view of Holi festival on March 2. “The festival of Holi will fall on Friday… thus, I have urged all mosques to postpone the timing of the Friday namaz. Holi is played at its peak between 12 pm to 1 pm, when jumme ki namaz is also held,” said Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, a Sunni cleric. He added that he has already changed the timings of Friday prayers at Aishbagh Eidgah from 12.45 pm to 1.45 pm.

“We understand that the festival comes once in a year for our Hindu brothers. Thus, to ensure that our Hindu brothers can play Holi and we can also offer namaz, we have decided to change the timings. Many people I have spoken to so far, have agreed… as all of us want to ensure that the right message goes out to the community,” said Mahali. He added that this was the first time that timings of Friday prayers has been changed for Holi.

This comes a day after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a law and order review meeting in regard with preparations for Holi. At the meeting, he had instructed officials to ensure peace during the festival. According to a government spokesperson, Adityanath had asked officials to ensure that peace committees comprising members of different communities meet and the festival is celebrated cordially.

The chief minister also instructed officials to ensure continuous power supply during Holi on March 1 and March 2, as well as proper arrangements for water supply in rural and urban areas.

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