Keep windows shut, shops closed: Ajmer residents told

Ajmer, April 8 (IANS) Residents whose houses face the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti have been asked to keep their windows shut while the Pakistan president is inside the shrine later this afternoon.

A police official said people residing near the dargah have already been given a list of dos and don'ts.

All the stores catering to pilgrims situated along a one kilometre-long narrow lane leading to the shrine will have to shut shop between 1.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Devotees have been barred from visiting the shrine from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., except for the khadims or shrine caretakers, who will help Zardari perform prayers.

Vehicular movement around the shrine will also be halted during the half an hour that Zardari is to spend at the dargah.

Asif Ali Zardari, his son Bilawal and a large delegation that arrived in New Delhi at noon and met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for lunch and talks, is to reach Ajmer around 4 p.m. to offer prayers at the famed Sufi shrine that is visited by thousands of people of all faiths.

A senior police official told IANS that over 3,000 policemen have been deployed around the shrine, which is 12 km away from the Ajmer helipad where Zardari will land in a helicopter from Jaipur.

"We have stationed around 80 police personnel inside the dargah, while the same number of police personnel will be deputed at the highrise buildings surrounding it," the official, who declined to give his name, said.

"We have told the people to shut their windows when Zardari is inside the complex," the official said.

The Rajasthan government has deputed six superintendents of police to oversee the deployment of over 3,000 policemen.