Authorities at Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) have decided not to give permission to Kutubbagh Darbar Sharif to hold Urs, an annual religious gathering, in Dhaka this year, as the event causes untold sufferings to city residents.

The Urs is slated for January 25 and 27 at Anwar Park, the lone park in Farmgate area.

The last event, held on January 25 and 27 this year, was allowed on five conditions that included a ban on keeping sacrificial animals on streets and use of loudspeakers inside residential areas adjoining the park, restriction on using loudspeakers inside the park until 10pm only during the Urs days, and reduction of heavy lighting.

In reply, the Darbar Sharif authorities had promised to relocate their Urs venue next year as ordered.

On Saturday, a mobile court, led by DNCC Zone 5 Executive Magistrate SM Aziar Rahman, demolished arches at and around the park, erected ahead of the event.

The decision not to allow such gatherings at the park, however, followed repeated media reports of the Urs being held with permission of the government’s authorities concerned at the park for years despite a prolonged public outcry.

The Urs is largely blamed for causing damage to the park and its premises due to the erection of makeshift structures using bamboos and tin sheets. People commuting through the area are left to suffer greatly since the roads adjoining the park get occupied, causing severe traffic congestion.

“Last year, we allowed them [Darbar Sharif authorities] to organize Urs at the park, as they promised the DNCC that they would relocate their venue outside Dhaka next year. I still have documentary evidence of their commitment, but they did not comply with the commitment they made. Therefore, we decided not to allow the event at the park anymore,” Aziar Rahman said.

“Although the gathering is one and a half months away, they have already started their preparation. In the meantime, they erected arches around the venue.”

In the past, bamboos, tin sheets and other materials were found lying scattered there for quite a long time after their event, causing nuisance and sufferings to visitors, he added.

The ban would apply to all such gatherings in the area, the DNCC official said, adding that programmes involving lesser number of participants may remain out of the purview of the ban.

Asked, insiders said they had yet not decided whether to organize the Urs somewhere outside Dhaka.

The article was first published on Bangla Tribune