Telangana Gears Up for Muharram with Focus on Safety, Sanitation & Services

Hyderabad: To ensure smooth and safe Muharram procession in the first week of July, Telangana State Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar held a high-level review meeting at the State Secretariat on Tuesday. The meeting included senior officials from various departments, Shia religious leaders, and Government Advisor Mohammed Shabbir Ali. 
 Minister Ponnam emphasized inter-departmental coordination and directed officials to ensure all arrangements are completed on time. He ordered immediate completion of pending drainage and road repair works around Ashoor Khanas and instructed the installation of high mast lighting in key areas. He also mandated police picketing at venues of Muharram events.
 Officials were directed to take comprehensive measures: the Forest Department was asked to facilitate the traditional elephant procession, Electricity Department to install decorative lighting, and the Water Board to ensure uninterrupted supply of drinking water. GHMC was tasked with overseeing sanitation, deploying mobile toilets, and providing other essential amenities.
 The Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department was instructed to set up barricades, while senior police officers were asked to plan effective traffic management and deploy tight security, especially around Bibi-ka-Alam, the starting point of the main procession.
 Government Advisor Mohammed Shabbir Ali stressed the importance of providing basic amenities to attendees and suggested arranging medical camps and ambulance services near Ashur Khanas.
 Prominent attendees included Rajya Sabha MP Anil Kumar Yadav, Hyderabad MLAs Mir Zulfiqar Ali, Mohammed Mubeen, Zafar Hussain, Majid Hussain, Kausar Mohiuddin, MLCs Mirza Riaz ul Hasan Effendi, Amir Ali Khan, Balmuri Venkat, Waqf Board Chairman Syed Azmatullah Hussaini, Minority Finance Corporation Chairman Obaidullah Kotwal, GHMC Commissioner R.V. Karnan, Hyderabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand, HMWSSB MD Ashok Reddy, and other key officials from the Minority Welfare and Waqf Board departments.

Forest Dept Blocks Delhi Elephant, Eyes Closer StateThe Telangana Forest Department has denied permission for the use of a female elephant, ‘JoyMoti,’ from Delhi in the historic Bibi-ka-Alam Muharram procession in Hyderabad. In a statement issued on June 6, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Elusing Meru rejected the NOC request made by the Awqaf Committee of the Nizam.
 Citing animal welfare concerns, the forest official said the journey from New Delhi to Hyderabad would be extremely strenuous and stressful for the elephant. “The travel of the elephant over such a long distance will put a lot of stress and strain on the animal,” Meru noted.
 The Forest Department are now considering arranging for an elephant from a location closer to Hyderabad, such as Karnataka
 As per guidelines from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, elephants are only allowed to travel up to 50 kilometers a day, making the long journey unsuitable.