PRAYAGRAJ, May 12 -- The area around the Syed Salar Masood Ghazi Dargah in Sikandra area of Baharia development block in Prayagraj wore a deserted look on Sunday as the district administration refused to grant permission for the annual fair due to security concerns this year. Police put up barricades outside the dargah to prevent the entry of people, who reached there for the annual fair, unaware of the cancellation, on Sunday morning. Police and PAC personnel were deployed at the gate of the dargah as a security measure. Earlier on May 8, Phulpur SDM Digvijay Singh convened a meeting of members of the annual fair's organising committee and local shopkeepers to communicate to them that a complete ban had been imposed on the fair due to security concerns and that stern action would be taken against those who did not comply. Barricading was done near the Bakseda intersection on the road leading to Prayagraj and also near the Birganj Canal to stop people arriving from the Baharia side. According to Safdar Javed, chairman of the organising committee, the Phulpur SDM had denied permission for the mela this year, citing security reasons. "Nearly 500 people who arrived from different districts of the state had to return owing to the barricading around the dargah. This annual fair is held on the Sunday before the mela in the original dargah of Gazi Miyan in Bahraich, permission for which has also been denied by the local administration. The fair in Bahraich was scheduled to be held on the next Sunday," he added. As per Javed, the dargah in Prayagraj was built in memory of Syed Salar Masood Ghazi. Baharia SHO Mahesh Mishra said that permission was denied this year owing to tensions on the border, as a large gathering at such a time was not advisable. Similarly, the annual fair at another dargah built in memory of Syed Salar Masood Gazi in Pratapgarh could also not be held on Sunday due to the same reason. According to Pratapgarh SP Anil Kumar, as the fair in Bahraich had already been banned, the district administration denied permission to the mela here, he added. As per the officer, organising committee members had already been informed about the decision....