Mumbai: Muslim community members responded to the call given by the Maharashtra Minister of Minority Affairs Nawab Malik to offer weekly namaz at home and not gather in the mosques amidst the coronavirus outbreak. Malik told FPJ, ’’Reports are reaching from all over the state that the Muslim community members have responded positively as they refrained from going to the mosques to offer namaz. They did it in their respective homes.
’’Malik said that objective was to avoid the congregation of people to curb further the spread of the virus.Prayer is one of the ‘five pillars’ of Islam, performed five times a day by the devout, but enjoined as a communal activity only at noon on Fridays. A veteran Muslim leader said that Muslims in Mumbai and rest of Maharashtra prayed at home.
Daily one lakh plates to be served under Shiv Bhojan Mean while, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in his social media address on late Friday evening announced that daily one lakh plates will be served at Rs 10 each under the flagship Shiv Bhojan scheme across the state during the nationwide lockdown.
However, he urged to avoid rush and have lunch at the Shiv Bhojan centres by keeping social distancing.Thackeray said he has directed the district administration they should make adequate arrangements to provide sufficient food grains to poor, working class and those underprivileged in the state. He urged the private medical practitioners and doctors not to close their dispensaries but treat the people.
He also appealed to the people to donate blood without gathering in a large numbers. Minister of public health Rajesh Tope said the state has blood stock limited to just eight days and therefore more and more citizens should come forward and donate the blood required in the present coronavirus crisis.
