SRINAGAR: Minister for Food Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA), Mohammad Ashraf Mir today visited shrine of Hazrat Syed Yaqoob Sahib (RA) at Sonwar and took stock of various issues faced by its administration. The Minister was accompanied by Vice Chairman Waqf Board, Nizamuddin Bhat, DC Srinagar, Dr. Syed Abid Rashid Shah, officers from SMC and other concerned officials.
On the occasion, VC Waqf Board appraised the Minister about the functioning of the shrine and the hurdles its administration faces while handling the huge flow of people who throng the shrine on the daily basis especially on Fridays and other special occasions. The Minister was informed that there is a need to expand premises of shrine by adding some neighboring space that can be of great help to the shrine administration. VC Waqf Board informed that the overflow of devotees on certain occasions leads to sanitation related problems. He said, if the shrine gets the additional space, more facilities can be added which includes separate entrances for ladies and gents and more washrooms. The lack of parking space also came up during the discussion.
After giving the patient hearing, the Minister assured that all the genuine issues will be redressed and directed the SMC officials for immediate beautification of park and to maintain the cleanliness in and around the shrine. He also asked the concerned officials to remove the wires that pass through the premises of shrine. Later the Minister went to take stock of ongoing developmental works outside G.B Pant Children hospital in Sonwar. He directed the concerned officials to expedite the pace of work on roads as it leads to inconveniences to the commuters. He directed them to complete the ongoing laying of pipes on priority basis and macadamize the road afterwards for the better communication. He directed the officials to develop the nearby unused roadsides and create the parking slots so that the traffic load on hospital decreases.