Mumbai: Eid holiday rescheduled as Muslims shift processions amid Ganesh Utsav

Eid Holiday rescheduled in Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Friday rescheduled the official Eid-e-Milad holiday in Mumbai to September 18 after the Muslim community decided to shift Eid processions amid Anant Chaturdashi celebrations, reported PTI on Saturday.
According to the news agency PTI, the local Muslim community decided to take Eid-e-Milad procession on September 18 instead of September 16. The decision was made with the Anant Chaturdashi celebration in view. Anant Chaturdashi is the last day of Ganesh Utsav, in which devotees take out a procession before immersing lord Ganesha’s idol.
According to an official release, the local Muslim community decided to shift the Eid procession, so the holiday was being rescheduled. The release added that rescheduling the Eid holiday in other Maharashtra districts depends on collectors’ discretion.
Eid-e-Milad is celebrated to mark Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. Traditionally, the festival is celebrated on September 16, with processions on September 17. This year, the Eid procession date coincides with Ganesh Visarjan, the local Muslim community leaders held a meeting and decided to delay the Eid procession, reported Free Press Journal on September 9.
The Muslim community met at Khilafat House, Byculla to discuss the issue. According to the FPJ report, some community leaders also suggested further delaying the procession to dates like September 19, as visarjan may continue till September 18 as well.
“If the Eid processions are kept on September 19, policemen could have got a day’s break from bandobast work,” Shuiab Khatib, the trustee of Mumbai’s Jama Masjid, told the FPJ citing that coinciding of the two event would cause inconvenience to both sides. He also added that Muslim community members might not be able to display their planned floats if both Eid and Visarjan celebrations happen on the same day.
The announcement to delay Eid procession to September 18 was made after a peace meeting convened by the Navi Mumbai Plice at the Marathi Sahitya hall in Vashi. The meeting was attended by the Municipal Corporation officials, fire department, office bearers of various Ganesh mandals and clerics from Muslim community.