Nine mosques in two Uttar Pradesh districts have been covered with tarpaulin.

Aligarh/Sambhal (UP):

At least nine mosques in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh and Sambhal districts have been covered with tarpaulin sheets ahead of Holi to prevent them from being smeared with colours, police said on Sunday.

The step was taken after talks with religious leaders to maintain law and order situation, police officials said.

In Aligarh, at least two mosques have been covered. One of them is Halwaaiyan mosque in the Sabzi Mandi area, and the other is located at Delhi Gate, Circle Officer (City) Abhay Pandey told reporters.

Mr Pandey said that a flag march was conducted in the sensitive areas with a message of peace and police pickets have been set up in the old city areas.

In Sambhal, the district administration, in agreement with the Muslim community, has covered some mosques with tarpaulin sheets to avoid dispute.

Additional Superintendent of Police (North) Shrish Chandra told PTI that like last year, six-seven mosques in Sambhal have also been covered with tarpaulin with mutual consent, because splashing of colours often lead to disputes.

Circle Officer (Sambhal) Anuj Kumar Chaudhary told PTI that the district administration has covered the mosques on the routes where Holi is played.

Patron of Muslim Traders Organization, Ehtesham Ahmed, said that last year also several mosques in Sambhal including Bazaar Mosque, Nakhasha Mosque and the one located on Arya Samaj Road were covered to maintain peace in the city.

Covering the mosques by the administration is a good step for maintaining peace, he added. 

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