Maharashtra govt declares Eid-e-Milad holiday on Friday

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has declared September 29 as the Eid-e-Milad holiday at the request of Muslim leaders.

This year, Anant Chaturdashi or the final day of the Ganesh festival falls on September 28, the same day as Eid-e-Milad, which is celebrated as the birthday of Prophet Muhammad.

As processions are taken out on the occasions of Anant Chaturdashi and Eid-e-Milad in Mumbai and other places, a delegation of All India Khilafat has requested chief minister Eknath Shinde to find a solution to it, a statement said.

"The delegation has requested that a holiday be declared on Friday, September 29, so that the police can make arrangements for the processions on both days (September 28 and 29). The state government has decided to announce a government holiday on Friday as well," Shinde said in the statement.

The announcement means two consecutive state holidays on Thursday and Friday followed by the weekend and the national holiday on October 2, marking Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary.