Shahjahanpur: 40 mosques to be covered ahead of Holi to ‘maintain peace’

Nearly 40 mosques in the town are being covered with plastic sheets ahead of Holi to prevent miscreants from throwing colour on the structures and disturb communal harmony, a senior official has said.

Continuing an 18th century tradition, Holi in this Uttar Pradesh town begins with revellers hurling footwear at a ‘Laat Saab’ procession featuring a buffalo cart and a hapless man personifying a Britisher.

The mosques are located along the route of the procession, the official said, adding that a thick security blanket will be thrown across the town where the law and order machinery will be under the charge of 225 magistrates.

According to Shahjahanpur City SP, Sanjay Kumar, the mosques along the procession route are being covered with plastic sheets from top to bottom to ensure people do not throw colour or any objectionable object at the structures and disturb communal amity.

“The mosques will be covered before Holika Dahan (March 28). Some of them have already been covered,” Kumar said. “Some of the roads, which fall on the route of the procession, have been barricaded and will be closed a day in advance.”