SUKKUR: The three-day 152nd death anniversary of Baba Bankhandi Maharaj which featured various rituals and prayers at the historical Sadhu Bela on an island in the Indus River, where theBaba spent over 40 years of his life meditating and praying, concluded on Thursday.

The last day saw a coronation ceremony of the shrine`s caretaker Gauri Shankar who had arrived from India af ter which all devotees took part in joint worship and prayers.The chairman of the Auqaf Department, Siddiq alFarooq, who reached the temple accompanied by Sindh Minister for Minority Affairs Gianchand Esrani, said that Hindus and Muslims were brothers.

Attacks on members of the Hindu community, their wor-ship places and temples were not acceptable, he said.

He handed a cheque for Rs1 million to the shrine`s custodians for the betterment of Sadhu Bela and announced the department would release Rs2 million every year for the shrine`s upkeep.