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Decades-old mosque razed in Meerut to make way for RRTS Corridor
With everyone’s consent and the help of PWD and NCRTC officials, the mosque was removed, said ADM city Brajesh Kumar Singh
A decades-old mosque located on Delhi Road in Meerut district was demolished late on Friday night to make way for the construction of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Corridor. The exercise was carried out in the presence of police and administrative officers.
The authorities said the mosque was causing obstruction in the progress of the rapid rail project and preventing the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) from continuing its work.
Following directives from the authorities, the caretakers of the mosque began vacating it on Friday. They removed doors and wooden panels of windows on their own. Late in the night, a bulldozer was brought in by the officials to carry out the demolition.
Talking to HT, ADM (city) Brajesh Kumar Singh said, “The rapid rail work is underway on Delhi Road which belongs to the public works department. The mosque was located in the area acquired for road construction and for its future development. PWD had handed over the path of its land to NCRTC for RRTS project.”
“NCRTC is constructing the Delhi-Meerut-Ghaziabad RRTS corridor underneath the road, exactly where the mosque was located. So, both the departments requested the mosque’s removal. With everyone’s consent and the help of PWD and NCRTC officials, the mosque was removed at night. Now, the work will proceed smoothly and the traffic congestion issue will also be resolved,” he added.
Haji Swale Heen, a representative of the mosque committee, said, “We received a notice regarding the mosque. The Mutawalli (caretaker) is unwell, but we were informed that the mosque needed to be removed, either voluntarily or through administrative action.”
“Friday prayers were not offered at the mosque. We had no choice but to follow the decision of the authorities. We even have documents related to construction of mosque from 1857. It also had historic significance. We just want the administration to provide an alternative site for constructing a mosque,” Haji added.
On this issue, the ADM (city) said the demand had been conveyed to the higher authorities.
Earlier on Thursday, ADM (city) Brijesh Kumar Singh arrived at the site along with NCRTC officials. They called the mosque imam and requested that the mosque be removed with mutual consent. The mosque’s caretakers were also called and briefed about the situation.
