Tour operators count losses as pilgrims cancel tickets to Ajmer Sharif in wake of Delhi violence

Kolkata: Tour operators are in a fix as several pilgrims going to Ajmer Sharif for the 808th Urs of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti are cancelling their tickets following the spate of communal violence in Delhi last week.

"From Tuesday (February 25, 2020 – the day on which a mosque was set on fire at Ashok Nagar in the national capital), several pilgrims going to Ajmer Sharif from Kolkata have cancelled their train and flight tickets. This apart, the Sealdah-Ajmer Express has remained cancelled till March 2. We are suffering huge losses due to this," said Mohammad Tanvir of New City Travels.

On February 25, a mob shouting "Jai Shri Ram" and "Hinduon ka Hindustan" paraded around the burning mosque, Badi Masjid and a Hanuman flag was placed on the minaret of the masjid.

The incident took place two days after BJP leader Kapil Mishra's 'ultimatum' to the Delhi Police that the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protesters at Jaffrabad and Chandbagh should be removed within three days. More than 30 people were also killed during the violence.

"I have been going to the Urs of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti for the last 11 years. However, due to fear of violence and bloodshed, I am not going to the Urs in Ajmer this year. I regret not attending the sixth day of the Urs, regarded as the most special and auspicious, also called 'Chhati Sharif'. Many people in my locality have also cancelled their trip," said Raonaque Jahan, a resident of Samsul Huda Road.

The Urs (Death Anniversary) of Hazrat Khwaja Garib Nawaz takes place in the Islamic month Rajjab. Irrespective of caste and creed, lakhs of people across the world come to pay visit to the mausoleum during the Urs.

"I being a Hindu respect Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in the same way I respect Lord Hanuman ji. I believe in Mirza Ghalib's lines 'Mazhab Nahi Seekhata Apas Mein Bair Rakhna'," said Dibyendu Chakrabarti, a resident of Asansol.