Uttarakhand Haj Committee demands Nagar Panchayat status for Piran Kaliyar Sharief

Uttarakhand Haj Committee on Friday sought a Nagar Panchayat status for Piran Kaliyar Sharief, one of the most revered shrines of Muslims located in Haridwar district.

In a letter to Governor Aziz Qureshi, Uttarakhand Haj Committee chief Haji Rao Sher Muhammad said a shrine which is visited by people of different faiths from all over the world annually must get the status of a nagar panchayat.

Piran Kaliyar which enjoys the status of a Gram Panchayat at present fulfils all the parametres for getting the status of a Nagar Panchayat in terms of the size of its area and population, he said.

Alleging that there was politics behind not granting it the status of a Nagar Panchayat, he sought the Governor's direct intervention in the matter saying Muslims of the state had great expectations from him.

Piran Kaliyar is the dargah of 13th-century Sufi saint of Chishti Order, Alauddin Ali Ahmed Sabir Kalyari also known as Sarkar Sabir Pak. Built by Ibrahim Lodhi at Kaliyar village, near Haridwar on the banks of Ganga Canal, 7-km from Roorkee, it is one of the most revered shrines for Muslims in India and is equally revered by Hindus and Muslims.