Tral, 17-Dec: The reconstruction of the renowned shrine of Shahi-Hamdan Hazrat Ameer-e-Kabeer Mir Syed Ali Hamdani (RA) located at the uptown area of Tral in south Kashmir is in limbo from the last twenty four years.The old Khanqah-e Faiz Panah building, which was a wooden structure, was fully damaged in a fire incident on 16 December 1997. The Khanqah-e Faiz Panah and adjoining houses were gutted although the Ziyarat Asaar-e-Sharief was saved.Locals while talking to said despite back to back requests, authorities have failed to complete the work on shrine till date.Built in the honour of thirteenth century Sufi saint Hazrat Ameer Kabeer Mir Sayed Ali Hamadani (RA) in the main town of Tral, more than two hundred years old revered shrine is still awaiting reconstruction.The government approved a project worth Rs. 10.13 crore for its reconstruction out of which only Rs. 9 crore has been spent from this allocation and The government has failed to release Rs. 1.65 crore required for the final phase of reconstruction, due to which this old asset is still awaiting reconstruction.The government has failed to complete the project work within the stipulated time. “The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department and J&K Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC), which is the executing agency, have missed several deadlines,” said the local residents.The members of Auqaf Islamia Hamdania Tral also expressed resentment against the authorities for frequent delays in the construction.The caretakers and devotees also expressed serious concern over the lackadaisical approach of the government. “Government is playing with our emotions,” said Ghulam Nabi, a devotee. “If the government at first would tell us that they don’t have funds, we would have collected donations and complete the reconstruction work on our own”.Talking to one of the caretaker said that the construction is going on at snail’s pace which is very unfortunate. He said besides other issues, the shrine lacks front elevation, main entrance gates, ladies shelter shed, chinar bagh and compound wall which need to be done as early as possible.“Apart from other issues, the electrification facilities should be restored soon as open wires inside the shrine pose threat to devotees,” he added.Despite several attempts, Director Tourism, G N Itoo couldn’t be reached for comments.Meanwhile, locals have urged the government to speed up the construction work on the shrine at an earliest.(CNS)
