Coimbatore: Muslims distribute water bottles to devotees at temple car fest

COIMBATORE: Representatives of the Athar Jamad Masjid on Opanakkara Street in the city on Wednesday rose to the occasion of our troubled times and sent out a message of brotherhood and communal harmony. They handed out 5,000 water bottles to Hindu devotees.
When the Koniamman temple car fest procession, an important Hindu religious event of the city, passed by the mosque on Wednesday afternoon, representatives of the Jamad stood outside and distributed water bottles to the devotees.
This was the first time a Jamad from the district had done such a thing, said A Shanawaz, president of the Athar Jamad.
“Traditionally, the temple car passes our mosque every year. But this year, considering the situation, we thought we had to do our bit to spread a message of brotherhood and communal harmony,” he said. While other organisations would usually distribute buttermilk to devotees, this was the first time a Jamad rose to the occasion, he said.
He said they had not put in any detailed planning for this. “We were discussing in our committee on Tuesday and we came up with the idea. We implemented it on Wednesday. We gave out water bottles to our Hindu brothers and sisters who were walking in the procession. It was an opportunity for us to strengthen communal harmony in the city,” he said.
Around 1 lakh people participated in the Koniamman temple car fest on Wednesday. The procession started from Raja Street, went through Oppanakkara Street, Vysial Street, and came back to its station.