New Delhi: One of the minarets of Delhi’s Jama Masjid was damaged in strong winds and rain that struck the city on Friday evening, the mosque staff said.
A sudden thunderstorm and rain accompanied by winds as strong as 60 kilometers per hour lashed the city on Friday, following which some tiles from minaret came off. The heavy tiles also damaged the courtyard. No one was injured in the incident. The mosque has been shut due to lockdown restrictions.
According to mosque staff, a slab of red sandstone from the minaret came crashing down following rain in the evening around 5:45 pm. “Repairs at Jama Masjid are carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) out on the special orders of the Prime Minister. We will talk to the ASI on Monday,” said Ansar-Ul-Haq, assistant PRO at Jama Masjid.
Built by Mughal emperor Shahjahan, the mosque is not an ASI-protected monument. The responsibility of the mosque’s maintenance rests with the Delhi Waqf Board. Mehfooz Mohammad, section officer, Delhi Waqf Board, said that a managing committee headed by the imam look after maintenance issues. “The committee headed by the present imam looks after maintenance issues. They usually reach out to conservation experts from the ASI. If our intervention is needed, we will step in with support,” he said.
Since last year, repair and conservation work at key monuments of the city has suffered on account of the pandemic. Some repair work of the mosque’s dome was undertaken last year before the imposition of lockdown. Last year, following heavy rain in July, the central dome of the 200-year-old Masjid Mubarak Begum in Old Delhi’s Hauz Qazi Chowk had collapsed.
{{/usCountry}}Since last year, repair and conservation work at key monuments of the city has suffered on account of the pandemic. Some repair work of the mosque’s dome was undertaken last year before the imposition of lockdown. Last year, following heavy rain in July, the central dome of the 200-year-old Masjid Mubarak Begum in Old Delhi’s Hauz Qazi Chowk had collapsed.
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