Omar orders restoration of Peer-e-Dastageer shrine

Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 28: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday ordered for immediate restoration of gutted shrine of Peer-e-Dastageer (RA) at Khanyar strictly as per its heritage characteristic.
“The restoration of the revered shrine should be strictly based on its heritage characteristic”, he told the Waqaf Board at a high level meeting he chaired here to discuss measures for restoration of shrine.
The Head of the INTACH, J&K Chapter, Mohammad Saleem Beg presented the images, photographs and digital documentation of the heritage structure of Peer-e-Dastageer shrine in the meeting preserved by the INTACH.
The Chief Minister expressed satisfaction over the heritage documentation of the shrine preserved by the INTACH. He said that this documentation could provide required basis for restorating the shrine as per its original heritage structure.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Finance, Abdul Rahim Rather, Minister for Rural Development, Ali Mohammad Sagar, Advisor to the Chief Minister, Mubarak Gul, Minister of State for Tourism, Nasir Aslam Wani, Political Advisor to the Chief Minister, Devender Singh Rana, Chief Secretary, Madhav Lal, Principal Secretary Planning, B. B. Vyas, Vice Chairman, Muslim Waqaf Board, M. Y. Qadri, various Administrative Secretaries, Chief Architect, Munir Ahmad Khan and other senior officers.
The Chief Minister also directed the Waqaf Board to immediately notify the measures and put in place befitting mechanism to safeguard the revered shrines in the State.
Meanwhile, the restoration plan of the revered Peer-e-Dastageer (RA) shrine was also discussed with the Sajjad-a-Nisheen of the shrine Syed Khalid Geelani.
The Chief Minister said that the valuable suggestions and view points of Sajjad-a-Nisheen and Management Committee as also of the experts in heritage restoration subject should be factored in the process of restoration of the shrine to its pristine glory.