Srinagar, June 29: The fire at shrine of revered saint, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani (RA) popularly known as Dastgeer Sahib (RA) seems to have reduced to cinder not only the historic wooden structure but government claims of disaster preparedness, as no requisite plan was in place to counter the flames expect filthy waters of nearby Babademd lagoon, often termed as Srinagar’s big sewage tank.
 Though Kashmir’s Disaster Management (DM) cell blows trumpet of preparedness against calamities of sorts, the agency missed to be ready for such eventuality at the revered landmarks, as remained visible at Dastgeer Sahib (RA) shrine on the fateful June 25 when the authorities acted in futility to save it.
 In fact, the DM cell, since its inception in 2006, has failed to workout any strategy to prevent calamities at the shrines and other building landmarks in this historic City, which stands tall on the world heritage map. Had there been one, the historic Dastgeer Sahib(RA) shrine would still be there.

THE SLUMBER
 Though the DM cell often claims of holding workshops on disaster preparedness, officials confessed that not a single such event was organized on the safety of the shrines though most of them happen to be wooden structures made of prized deodar.
 Experts said it was mandatory on part of government to hold awareness programs which would lead to fire preparedness. The issue of shrines, as per the experts, couldn’t be ignored given the big number of such places in the City and the faith which local populace of this Muslim dominated society has reposed in them.
 “Given the sanctity of the shrines and Masjids, the government should have seriously taken up disaster preparedness plans for such places,” said a senior official requesting not to be named. 

THE UN-PLAYED ROLE
 The DM could have played its role on various fronts like safety audit, keeping fire-fighting services including extinguishers and hydrants in place and also train manpower to face such situations. But in reality what the DM did was to hold workshops or seminars, mostly on earthquake preparedness alone.
 “Basically most people don’t think of fire as a disaster whereas in actuality it’s the biggest threat that too confronted frequently then other calamities,” said prominent architect on heritage Sameer Hamdani who has extensively worked on digitization of shrine maps in Srinagar.
 He said the “image of disaster in the eyes of many was limited to earthquakes alone” whereas other threats get ignored.

THE HYPE
 Sources said the role of DM was often confined to hosting events like seminars which attracted photo sessions for VIPs, who apart from other things relished Wazwaan or at least Kaju and Kishmish.
 “Serious issues like fire threat to revered landmarks was never discussed,” said a senior official who has attended such workshops adding that only thing “memorable was the good quality dry-fruits served there.” “The only thing good about such events used to be dry fruit bowl full of Kaju and Kishmish,” he quipped.

WHAT WAS REQUIRED?
 If not making any financial expenditures for fire prevention at shrines, the DM could at-least have awakened the concerned particularly the Waqf Board on how to prevent disasters like the one that hit the Khanyaar shrine Monday morning where leave apart fire-extinguishers even a hydrant point wasn’t available in time.
 Observers said the DM should have held special workshops for the shrine caretakers primarily on how to prevent fire and also how to douse the flames.
 The DM cell could have got a survey done (including fire audit) on what were the potential threats to the shrines and how to counter them.

 PREPAREDNESS IS PREVENTION
 Going by the maxim that prevention is better than cure experts said fire prevention is the only thing to save the shrines.
 “There’s simply no cure to fire that destroys the legacy of a shrine. So wisdom lies in its prevention and that is possible only through proper planning and fire audit of such sacred sites,” said prominent expert on heritage, Muhammad Saleem Beg.
 Beg agreed that it was high time to introspect the misgivings, which lead to devastation of Dastgeer Sahib (RA) shrine.

BOTTOMLINE
 What’s gone is gone. Though the National Conference led government plans to reconstruct the 200-year-old shrine, many queries remain unanswered.
 Will the government be able to rediscover the finesse of artwork, which the then artisans, who constructed the building, had expertise at? Will it be a compromise because such able hands hardly exist in the contemporary era of cement and steel monsters? Or, shall we have to wait for such able hands like Papier-mâché artists and woodcarvers to take a rebirth?
 While time will decide the answers, fire threat looms large over two dozen odd revered landmarks including Jamia Masjid, Khanqah-e-Mo'alla(RA) and the Naqshbandh Sahib (RA) shrine.
 Observers like former bureaucrat Naeem Akhter who is believed to have introduced heritage conservation in Kashmir through INTACH, have their own fears. As he asked in his recent column on the Dastgeer Sahib (RA) shrine incident: Today it was Dastgeer Sahib, tomorrow it could be, God forbid, the last bastion of our glory, Khankah e Mo’alla.  Are we still ready to preserve and celebrate whatever little is left?
(To be concluded)

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