An ocean of devotees flock to attend 767th urs of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar
During the urs, thousands of private homes in the town are offered on rent to devotees.
SEHWAN SHARIF (Dunya News) – The three-day 767th annual Urs celebrations of Hazrat Qalandar Lal Shahbaz is being held from April 24-26 at Sehwan city in Sindh province.
All essential arrangements have been finalised as the flood of devotees have begun to flock to the town from Pakistan and abroad for the annual celebrations.
The formal inauguration of the urs will be performed by Governor Imran Ismail , who will lay a floral wreath on the sufi saint’s grave and offer a fateha for him.
During the urs, thousands of private homes in the town are offered on rent to devotees to stay for three days.
Effective security measures have been taken by the administration as 5,000 police personnel and 1000 Rangers officials have been deployed in the region to prevent any untoward incident. Besides, walk-through gates, metal detectors and CCTV cameras have been installed at all entry points of the shrine.
Besides, many ambulances and fire tenders from other districts as well will be stationed in Sehwan. The sizzling heat has been a cause of death of several devotees during the urs. The government will also procure thousands of bottles of mineral water for free distribution among the devotees.
The officials have also requested the National Highway Authority to regulate traffic on the Indus Highway stretch between Jamshoro and Sehwan where accidents frequently occur due to the curvy single road and a tremendous influx of traffic during urs.
The real name of this 13th century saint was Syed Muhammad Usman Marvandi. Lal, Shahbaz and Qalandar are his appellations referring to the colour of his apparel, his devotion symbolised by a falcon and the sufi order to which he belonged respectively.
Held every year on the 18, 19 and 20 of Shabaan, the annual Urs of Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar is no less a kaleidoscope of colours and characters.
At a distance of 285 km from Karachi, lies a rural town named Sehwan Sharif. Famous for the shrine of Saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Sehwan is one of the liveliest towns in the province of Sindh during the Islamic month of Shaaban.
