Fazal Ansari
Srinagar: Kashmir reverberated with the calls to prayers (Azan) late Wednesday night sparking panic among the people amid lurking fears of raging COVID-19 epidemic.
Mosque loudspeakers started blaring Azan around 11 in the night when people had already gone to bed or where readying for that. This was unprecedented and led to panic at many places.
Many shunned their beds and came out in complete bewilderment asking each other what had actually happened.
Soon it merged that some Pakistani cleric had called on devout Muslims to go on their rooftops at 10 PM (10.30 IST) and give Azan to ward off the threat of coronavirus. A video clip circulating on social media showed the cleric citing Hadees (Prophetic tradition) of reciting Azan during the time of a calamity.
However at many places the sight of an asteroid visible to naked eye sparked panic and even fears of a doomsday scenario.
Social media posts claiming that NASA had issued a warning about a large asteroid approaching Earth that could, if hit, end civilization, fuelled the rumours.
Video showing an asteroid visible to naked eye went viral with people in background chanting Allah-u-Akbar. It was however not clear where the video had been shot.
https://youtu.be/eUy06AI6DTM
At least four asteroids passed by Earth last week and another asteroid will fly by in early April, according to reports attributed to NASA.
It must be mentioned that with the discovery of 8 positive cases of COVID-19 and one death, people in Kashmir are already living on the edge these days.
The Valley-wide resort by the people to ‘Azaan’ left the authorities clueless for many hours as to what had caused the panic.
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