PWD carries out encroachment removal drive at Bhoori Bhatyari mosque in central Delhi

New Delhi: The Public Works Department undertook an encroachment removal exercise outside the Bhoori Bhatiyari mosque or Madrasa Reshamiya Masjid located on the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg near Khooni Darwaza amidst heavy police presence during the early hours of Tuesday morning

New Delhi: The Public Works Department undertook an encroachment removal exercise outside the Bhoori Bhatiyari mosque or Madrasa Reshamiya Masjid located on the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg near Khooni Darwaza amidst heavy police presence during the early hours of Tuesday morning. During the exercise, the portion of BSZ Marg was barricaded by the police to prevent any protest. A senior PWD official said that some encroachments in the form of metallic frame, washing area and storage area was present outside the mosque which has been removed during the exercise. “The main compound or the wall of the mosque has not been touched. Only the extensions and temporary structures on the footpath were taken down after providing due notices. There has been no resistance during the drive which was completed before the regular commuting hours,” PWD official said.

A view of the spot where an illegal structure was demolished by PWD on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

A representative from the mosque committee, who requested anonymity, said that a notice for removal of encroachment was pasted outside the mosque on Monday night. “The officials along with large number of police personnel arrived around 6:00am on Tuesday. We were all asked to stay inside the complex and the wudu area and the metallic frame was broken. Before this, we were not informed that the structures were illegal. They were not obstructing any vehicular or pedestrian movement,” he said. Another mosque representative said they are considering moving to the court against this action.

The notice issued by the executive engineer of the PWD (Central and New Delhi) to the management authority of the mosque dated 26 September 2022 states: “It is hereby informed that there is encroachment in Right of Way of Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in front of Madarasa Reshamiya Masjid. it is directed that the encroachment must be removed on 26 September 2022 otherwise the same will be removed by the government.”

Built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, a Muslim ruler of the Tughlaq Dynasty, Masjid Bhoori Bhatyari of Delhi has a distinct green dome flanked by two white minarets. It is situated on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, which connects to Old Delhi, the mosque is at a proximity to Khooni Darwaza, a structure associated with many gory deaths during Mughal and British Raj period. The site is also not far away from three huge graveyards behind media house buildings where a largescale demolition and encroachment removal exercise was undertaken on June 22, 2022.