ROORKEE: With the passing of a 65-year-old man fondly known as “Mamu,” Piran Kaliyar Shrine lost a devotee who had become a driving force behind the shrine’s cleanliness campaign over the past 15 years. Mamu passed away on Wednesday in Kanpur, but was laid to rest at Piran Kaliyar on Thursday amid a large gathering of mourners. Originally from Kanpur, Mohammad Mobin had earned immense respect among locals for his selfless and unpaid service towards keeping the shrine area clean. Residents said Mamu devoted his life to cleaning drains around the dargah and personally carrying garbage collected from the shrine premises on his head for disposal.Over the years, his quiet dedication inspired scores of people to join the campaign, gradually turning it into a major community-led cleanliness movement across Kaliyar. The volunteer group associated with him came to be popularly known as the “Mamu Team.”According to local residents, nearly 200 volunteers are associated with the group, including around 40 non-Muslims and more than 50 women, reflecting the campaign’s broad social participation and communal harmony.“For Piran Kaliyar Dargah (shrine) he was a great social change agent,” said Shah Yawar Aijaz Sabri, recalling Mamu’s role in transforming public awareness about sanitation and civic responsibility in the shrine town. According to members of the shrine community, Mobin’s association with Piran Kaliyar Dargah began in 2012 when he arrived there with his elder daughter to offer prayers for her recovery from a prolonged illness.During the visit, he came in contact with the shrine’s then deputy priest, Shammi Miyan. Recalling the incident, Shah Yawar Aijaz Sabri said, “My late father told Mobin that his daughter would recover, but asked him what he would do in return for Sabir Baba. Mobin replied that he was willing to do whatever was asked of him.”Sabri said Mobin later returned to Kanpur, where his daughter’s health improved. “After some time, he came back to Kaliyar and again asked my father how he could serve the shrine. My father told him to begin cleaning the drains around the dargah premises. From that day onwards, he continued doing the work tirelessly for the rest of his life,” he added.A resident of Sachendi village in Kanpur district, Mobin is survived by his wife, five daughters and three sons. Family members said he had traveled to Kanpur earlier this week in connection with a marriage proposal for one of his daughters. He reportedly suffered a heart attack there on Thursday and passed away. His family later brought his body to Kaliyar on Friday for the last rites.Following his death, his son, Noor Alam alias Shiboo, has pledged to continue his father’s cleanliness mission.“It is heartening that Shiboo has decided to carry forward his late father’s campaign,” said Tej Narayan Hari, a 30-year-old resident of Gaya who has been associated with the initiative since 2012.Hari said he too had come to Kaliyar to offer prayers when he first saw Mobin cleaning drains around the shrine and decided to join the campaign. “The man whom the entire Kaliyar fondly called ‘Mamu’ built a sanitation and cleanliness volunteer force of nearly 200 people here,” he said.
