The Muslim community has accused the Haryana Wakf Board of not maintaining graveyards properly in the city. Members of the community alleged that the board was turning a blind eye to the issues of encroachment and garbage disposal at the burial grounds.
The community members raised the issue at a meeting with Haryana Wakf Board administrator Naseem Ahmad on Tuesday. They said that the five-acre burial site at Pataudi Road has been neglected by the board.
Amina Shervani, an industrialist and an eminent member of the community in Gurgaon who attended the meeting, said, "The board has not been doing enough to improve the situation. It has not even placed a board to identify the site."
The Wakf land adjoining the burial site has four houses and 22 shops, which are on rent. The community alleges that there is no guard or supervisor to take care of the site, which leads to people using it to dump their garbage. "We are disheartened to see the sanctity of our burial grounds being destroyed," said Akhlaq Ahmed, a resident of Palam Vihar.
Wakf board's Gurgaon estate officer Jamal Uddin denied the allegations made by "a few members of the community". "We are working on a plan to renovate the place and make it more secured and green," he said. An imam is always present at the site to register the burials, he added.
{{/usCountry}}Wakf board's Gurgaon estate officer Jamal Uddin denied the allegations made by "a few members of the community". "We are working on a plan to renovate the place and make it more secured and green," he said. An imam is always present at the site to register the burials, he added.
{{/usCountry}}Residents have been demanding that the graveyard be filled and reused. Jamal Uddin said that a 2.5 acre ground in Sector 57 had been acquired by the Wakf to be used as a graveyard.
Community members and the Wakf board will meet again on March 21 when the board is expected to come with details on all the Wakf properties in Gurgaon and Mewat districts.