Delhi celebrates Eid with great fervour

A large number of Muslims offered special prayers in mosques and eidgahs this morning, kick-starting Id celebrations in the national capital. Throngs of people in their festive best turned up at major mos-ques in the city, including the historic Jama Masjid, Fatehpuri Masjid and Hazrat Nizamuddin, as well as eidgahs in the city for special prayers, which mark the end of the month-long Ramzan.

After the prayers, people exchanged Id greetings and gifts. Festivities grip-ped Jama Masjid and Ch-andni Chowk areas where people were busy buying sweets and savouries to welcome friends and relatives. Ecstatic children, who were gifted eidee money by parents and elders, were at the forefront of the festivities buying toys and other items from shops around the mosques. People also gave alms to the needy who had gathered around the mosques and eidgahs.

Markets in various Muslim-dominated areas in the city have been decked up on the occasion of Id ul-Fitr, one of the most important days in the Islamic calendar.

Special arrangements were made by the police to manage the crowd and ensure safety and security around religious places in the city. Ramzan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, is observed as a fasting period by Muslims who abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset and it culminates in Id ul-Fitr celebrations.

The day marks the end of Ramzan, which literally means “festival of breaking of the fast.”