Srinagar, June 29: For 17-year-old Tawqeer Ahmad the revered Shrine of Peer Dastageer Sahib (RA) means a pillar of existence for him that is why he risked his life on Monday to save it from tragic fire.
 Unfortunately the Shrine could not be saved but his courageous act saved the holy relics from perishing. Ahmad along with his two friends, Danish Amin and Javaid Ahmad dared the soaring flames to exhibit their devotion for the revered saint and helped in retrieving the valuables.
 “We have grown up under the shade of this shrine and how could we bear to see it in flames,” said Tawseef. For him the moments were replete with pain that left unhealed scars on his soul.
 The twelfth-grader said how he saw thick smoke rising up from the shrine when he and his friend Danish were heading to a nearby tuition center. He could not wait for firemen to reach the spot when he saw the fire engulfing the top floor of the shrine.
 “After we saw flames emanating from the shrine we climbed the doorsill to go inside. But by this point, the fire had already become aggressive, and the flames began to engulf the main part of the shrine,” he said.
 As the people started screaming, the boys took it onto themselves to save whatever part of the shrine they could.
 “Amid chaos and confusion we informed the fire station and raised alarm for other people including the custodians,” Tawqeer said.
 Danish Amin, another daredevil and devotee of the revered saint said he felt like it was his responsibility and religious duty to douse the flames.
 “We were the first who saw the fire and to make sure everybody knew what was going on. Everyone in that area, we don't know each other that well, but I felt like I needed to make sure everybody knew to evacuate or call fire station,” he said.
 Though, Danish could not save the shrine but he is a little contended that he contributed his bit to save the ‘symbol of faith’, which their elders have nourished with their tireless faith.
 “I was not really focused on myself, I was focused on getting the relics out safely because there was a huge fire I knew that it was going to spread,” Danish told Greater Kashmir.
 After informing the firemen, the boys were preparing to make his way back down to their homes but after watching the firemen struggling helplessly dousing the flames they joined them and in turn received injuries and burns. In the act Tawqeer injured his right leg while Danish received burn injuries all over his body.
 “I had a really quick decision to make, either go through the flames and risk getting burn, or stay up there and wait for the fire to come to me,” said Tawqeer, who fractured his right leg in the incident.
 Like them, hundreds of young boys from Khanyar and other adjacent localities could not care about their lives, and jumped into the blazing fire inside the shrine.
 According to locals more than 70 boys have been injured while dousing the deadly fire to save the relics they hold utmost regard for.
 Some of them were able to save a few copies of Holy Qur’an and other scriptures including the precious biggest handwritten Qur’an .

Lastupdate on : Fri, 29 Jun 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 29 Jun 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 30 Jun 2012 00:00:00 IST