Mumbai: The Maharashtra government announced on Friday that the official Eid-e-Milad holiday in the Mumbai district has been rescheduled from September 16 to September 18. This change was made due to the overlap with Anant Chaturdashi, the last day of the Ganesh festival, which falls on September 17. Given the large-scale Ganpati Visarjan processions on this day, the local Muslim community decided to shift their Eid-e-Milad processions to September 18, prompting the government to adjust the holiday accordingly.
Official Release Confirms Rescheduling Of Holiday
The rescheduling decision was outlined in an official release, which stated that district collectors in other regions of Maharashtra could make similar adjustments depending on local circumstances. Eid-e-Milad-Un-Nabi, which marks the birth of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), is traditionally observed on September 16.
However, due to the logistical challenges posed by the Ganpati celebrations, the Khilafat House in Byculla, representing the local Muslim community, opted to postpone the Eid procession to September 18 to avoid any conflict with the festivities.
In light of this, Maharashtra Congress leader Naseem Khan urged Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to officially declare September 18 as the Eid-e-Milad holiday instead of September 16, aligning with the community’s decision to delay the observance.
CR To Run Special Train Services For Ganeshotsav
Meanwhile, CR authorities have arranged for additional suburban train services in Mumbai to accommodate the increased demand during the ongoing Ganpati festival. Starting from Saturday, 22 special train services will be operational during the night between September 14 and 18. The Central Railway (CR) release stated that 20 of these services will run on the main line, while two will operate on the harbour line.
The trains on the main line will run between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Thane, as well as CSMT and Kalyan, during the intervening nights of September 14/15, 16/17, and 17/18. Meanwhile, the services on the harbour line will run between CSMT and Panvel exclusively on the night of September 17/18. These special services aim to ease the movement of devotees participating in Ganpati Visarjan.
