Jammu, July 2 (IANS) In the wake of the fire which gutted the famous shrine of Peer Dastageer Sahib in Srinagar last week, people in the remote mountainous town of Kishtwar in the Jammu region Monday expressed concern about the lack of fire safety measures in two famous shrines in the town.
The two shrines – Dargah Hazrat Shah Mohammad Fariduddin Baghdadi and Hazrat Shah Asraruddin Baghdadi – were built in the 17th century and are revered by thousands of devotees. Both shrines are wooden structures.
“We are very concerned about the lack of fire safety measures in these two shrines,” says Zafar Junaid, a local shopkeeper near the shrine of Hazrat Shah Fariduddin.
“The shrine of Hazrat Fariduddin Shah is in a congested area while the roof of Hazrat Asraruddin Shah’s shrine was gutted in a fire over 35 years ago. So we have genuine concerns,” Asif Naik, a local journalist, told IANS.
Salim Mohammad Choudhary, deputy commissioner of Kishtwar, admitted: “There are shortcomings in the fire safety measures which the management of the two shrines have overlooked. I have issued instructions to have effective fire fighting equipment in place as soon as possible.”
