– Mohammed Atherulla Shariff
Hyderabad: Jamaat volunteers, private agency and public services have contributed to holding the mega event of members’ meet of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, in Hyderabad in the mid of this month.
Abdul Jabbar Siddiqi, the chief organiser of the event, talking to Radiance, said, exactly a year before the Central Advisory Council of the Jamaat decided to hold its All India Members’ Meet and he was assigned the job.
It was in January this year the job started. The events conducted by various Islamic movements across the world like ISNA and ICNA were studied thoroughly. Six places were identified initially – NOIDA International Expo Ground, Pragati Maidan, Bengaluru International Expo Ground, Hyderabad International Expo Ground, Nagpur and Wadi-e-Huda, Hyderabad. The last of these was finalised considering the cost factor, Jamaat’s prevailing influence and accessibility to majority of the delegates.
Earlier Events’ Study
Previously two All India Members’ Meets were held on the same ground in 1997 and 2015. Earlier, the 6th All India Public Convention was also held at the same venue. The files related to these earlier programmes were studied and the issues that confronted and the shortcomings were especially noted down.
Planning
Of the 51 acres of land available at Wadi-e-Huda, around 35 acres were required to accommodate 20,000 members and other delegates.
The main part of microplanning was avoidance of all sorts of emergencies. Priority was given to create conducive atmosphere in the neighbourhood. All the stakeholders of the community, especially the Municipal Councillors and Mohalla leaders were involved in the reception committee who took pride in hosting the convention and serving the visiting guests, in the best possible manner.
Water, electricity and sewage were other major requisites besides the infrastructure. Prayer space, auditorium, residential camps, medical camp, kitchens, dining halls, ablution, wash rooms and bathrooms, open space, greenery, spacious roads, street lights, exhibition, stalls, internal transport (for the aged and handicapped), security, etc. were designed.
Government Services
Phase-wise execution of the plan was taking shape as scheduled but a communal incident in the mid of October followed by clamping of Section 144 by the Police till November end became a setback. A meeting with the City Police Commissioner made the things easy. Likewise, a formal meeting with other authorities to brief on the event to be held, paved the way further.
Member of Parliament and president of AIMIM Asaduddin Owaisi took keen interest in facilitating the arrangements smoothly. Laying of asphalted roads (40’ wide and 1500’ long) in the campus, especial street lights up to 2 kilometers, procuring water from the nearby government’s water tank with 50 lakh litres capacity (built on 2000 sq yards piece of land donated by Jamaat long time ago), garbage cleaning, firefighting vans, police patrolling were taken care by relative departments. Owaisi deputed party MLC Rahmat Baig to coordinate with the authorities, he handled the task excellently.
Technology
Usage of technology and machines reduced the cost, saved time and tension. IT professionals from Jamaat ranks developed event apps which connected the cadre directly with the organisers. Travel timings, special requirements, number of persons attending the convention, were updated time to time. This helped in customising the arrangements. For any health issue, the participants were directly connected with the medical team through the app. Voice to voice translation of speeches in five different languages was made available with the help of AI in the apps.
Hygiene
Special attention was given to hygiene and cleanliness. The surrounding area of the campus was also cleaned and pesticide were sprayed. Private agency was assigned to install and maintain the PVC toilet cabins. Municipal crew cleared the garbage time to time. Consequently, the entire campus was mosquito and insects free.
Volunteers
Around 2500 volunteers, including 500 ladies, took care of the guests during the convention. Whereas in the pre-convention preparations a team of 20 volunteers managed the entire show. The well-trained volunteers from Jamaat’s sub organisations like HRS (Karnataka) IRW (Kerala) and SBF (Centre) took care of the security and other relative services proficiently.
Attendees
Of the 18000 members 15000 plus attended the three-day convention. Senior citizens were slightly more than the youths, among the women as well. Combination of four ‘Cs’ i.e. chairs, chargers, cots and commodes was notable.
Mileage
The chief organiser of the convention AJ Siddiqui said, though the convention was simply an in-house activity with no societal mileage but it left a deep impact on the cadre. Spiritual enrichment, reinforced commitment to the cause, strengthening of bonds and organisational connectivity was the take home message.
