By IANS,
Srinagar ; Thousands of Muslims gathered at various prayer grounds and mosques across Kashmir Valley Monday to offer Eid-ul-Fitr prayers.
There were no reports of any untoward incidents and sources said Eid prayers concluded peacefully everywhere.
The holy month of Ramzan ended Sunday after the crescent was sighted at various places in the Valley heralding the beginning of the Islamic month of Shawwal.
The largest number of devotees in this summer capital gathered at the Hazratbal shrine, the Eidgah grounds, the Polo ground and the Jamia Mosque.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his father, union minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, offered Eid prayers at the Hazratbal shrine and mingled with thousands of devotees who had gathered there to offer prayers.
As clerics prayed for peace in the world and unity amongst Muslims, youth and children wore new clothes and hugged each other in the traditional Eid greeting.
Unlike earlier years, no alarm was raised amongst the security forces or the general public in Srinagar and other major towns over the loud noise created by the bursting of firecrackers.
At many places in the city, officers and troopers of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were seen greeting the locals and patting children as a goodwill gesture.
“I have been manning this picket for so many months now that I recognise most of the residents in this area. It is nice to see people enjoying life today,” said a CRPF trooper here.
As a goodwill gesture, authorities released some separatist leaders Sunday evening, including Muhammad Nayeem Khan, president of the separatist National Front and member of the moderate Hurriyat group led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, and Asiya Andrabi, chief of the women’s separatist group Dukhtaran-e-Milat.