Kashmir celebrates Eid-ul Fitr amidst stray protests

Eid-ul Fitr, the Muslim festival marking the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan, was today celebrated across Kashmir with traditional fervour and gaiety but for a few stray protests over the situation in Gaza.
Men, women and children dressed in their best clothes made a beeline for Eidgah (prayer grounds), mosques and shrines across the Valley to offer the congregational Eid prayers in thanksgiving for the fasting month of Ramzan, which ended last evening with the sighting of the crescent moon.
The biggest gathering was reported at the revered Hazratbal Shrine on the banks of Dal Lake where Chief Minister Omar Abdullah joined nearly 60,000 devotees to offer Eid prayers, police said.

A big gathering was also reported at Eidgah in the old city where nearly 30,000 people offered prayers.
Large congregations were also witnessed at the Tourist Reception Centre ground here and in the Anantnag, Baramulla, Shopian, Kulgam, Budgam, and Ganderbal district headquarters, police added.
However, violent protests were reported in parts of the Valley soon after Eid prayers in which one photojournalist was injured, police said.
The protests were held in solidarity with the people of Gaza where hundreds of persons have died in Israeli airstrikes and ground offensive over the past month.