Huge rush to Ajmer dargah, locals step in as all hotel rooms booked

AMID the controversy over the claims that the Ajmer Dargah is built over a Hindu temple, a record number of pilgrims attended the 813th Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.

- RAJESH ASNANI @Jaipur

The turnout this year was double that of the previous year, dargah committee sources said.

The rituals of Bade Kul and Jumme ki Namaz were observed with fervor.

Pilgrims from many countries, including 89 from Pakistan, thronged the dargah to seek the blessings of the Sufi saint.

The rooms of over 6,000 hotels in Ajmer proved insufficient for the pilgrims.

Locals opened their homes as makeshift guesthouses to accommodate the devotees.

The Anjuman Committee revealed that while no official record of chaadar offerings is maintained, an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 chaadar were presented daily during the Urs.