Dhanbad, Nov. 5: Muhammad Ghulam Rasool alias Bharti, an eunuch, will undertake the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca and pray for the safety of the people of Jharia, who have been suffering from the scourge of underground fire for years.

The 55-year-old hermaphrodite, a resident of Jamadoba in Jharia, feels duty-bound to seek divine blessings for the area she resides in. “I thought it was my duty to pray for the society where I am living and earning from. I can live in happiness only when people around me stay in peace,” said Bharti.

Bharti decided to go on the mission when the issue of closing the oldest educational institution of Jharia — RSP College — heated up. “I felt it is only Allah who can settle the problem,” she said.

She was successful in getting the necessary government clearance for the journey, scheduled in December. She has spent Rs 55,000 for it.

Bharti is the only eunuch from Jharkhand to undertake this pilgrimage, claims president of Dhanbad Kinnar Society and Bharti’s “guru” Chham Chham. “We are 35 members in our society here. Some or the others try every year to undertake the holy pilgrimage, but Bharti was lucky to get the divine nod this time,” Chham Chham said.