Chrar-e-Sharief, July 19: Minister of State and Chairperson J&K Waqf Board Dr Darakhshan Andrabi laid foundation stone for Utility Complex and the new Main Gate at the shrine campus of Hazrat Nooruddin Noorani (RA) at Chrar-e-Sharief during her visit today. She also issued instructions to the Engineering Wing of the Waqf Board to ensure the completion of the works before the Annual  Urs Sharief at the shrine. She paid obeisance at the ziyarat and prayed for the peace and prosperity of all.

Dr Andrabi took stock of the facilities in the shrine and also assessed the management system in place there. She was accompanied by the magistrate of the Board and other officials too. The Waqf Chairperson met many public delegations and the groups of devotees visiting the shrine. Later in her address at a brief function held in the Campus, Dr Andrabi said that Waqf Board has taken up a mega shrines development programme for the first time on its own despite the limited resources available. “We are committed to develop our shrines by undertaking renovation and construction works as per the demand at all major shrines in the first phase and during the past few months we have started work or completed work on many projects throughout J&K”, said Waqf Chairperson. She said that the transformation of the Waqf Management has re-established the importance of our spiritual places which had suffered a lot due to anti-spiritual campaigns which flourished during decades of violence in J&K. ‘Sufi tradition of Kashmir is a beacon of light which represents our great spiritual past. This tradition is the way of inclusiveness, compassion and peace. It is our collective responsibility to restore our positive traditions now in these hard earned peace times’, said Dr Andrabi. The Imam of this great sufi shrine also addressed the gathering. He thanked Dr Andrabi for her reformative steps in the shrine management.