The situation was brought under control after the BMC agreed to give the trustees of Mehboob E Subhani mosque in Dharavi five days to remove the encroachment on their own.
Tension prevailed in Mumbai’s Dharavi on Saturday morning as hundreds of residents gathered on the streets, blocking traffic, to protest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) move to demolish the illegal portion of a mosque.
As the BMC teams arrived at the spot to demolish the illegal construction at the Mehboob E Subhani mosque on Dharavi’s 90 Feet Road, residents blocked the road and allegedly pelted stones at civic vehicles.
The situation was brought under control after two hours after BMC officials gave the mosque trustees five days to remove the encroachment on their own.
According to BMC officials, an eviction notice had been issued to the trustees of the mosque to remove the encroachment and action was initiated based on the notice.
However, the trustees submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner of Zone 2 of the BMC and the assistant commissioner of the G North division seeking time to remove the encroachment. The BMC accepted the request and said that the eviction procedure has been suspended till September 26.
“A group of residents in favour of the mosque and the trustees met BMC and police officials at the Dharavi police station. During the meeting, three trustees gave a written assurance to the BMC officials saying they would themselves remove the illegal portion of the mosque,” a police officer said.
As a precautionary measure, the police have deployed heavy police presence in the area around the mosque.
Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad had met Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday to discuss the issue. “ I had a positive conversation with the chief minister. He said that he will talk to the concerned officials and assured that the demolition proceedings will be stopped,” Gaikwad had said on Friday.
Meanwhile, Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders targeted the government over the issue.
When the BJP is in power, such instances increase. It has become a pattern. Their members speak against the Constitution, against communities…it leads to a communal divide…Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis overlooks all this which is shocking,” NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA and former minister Aaditya Thackeray alleged this was the government’s attempt to create Hindu-Muslim riots in the area. “The issue of Dharavi is serious. The Adani group has come into Dharavi for the last one-and-a-half years and is trying to loot Mumbai. Since then, Dharavi and Maharashtra have been united…there is a last-ditch effort to create Hindu-Muslim riots to break that unity,” Thackeray said during a press conference on the Mumbai University Senate polls that were deferred.
“Dharavi is going to be rehabilitated and hence there is an attempt to create a communal rift. The government wants to give away Mumbai to Adani and this can happen only if there are Hindu-Muslim riots. So this is the last attempt of the BJP. In the two-and-a-half years of our government, not a single such incident had happened. Hindu-Muslim disputes, caste disputes or India-Pakistan disputes are fuelled,” the Yuva Sena president added.
The Adani Group is yet to comment on the allegations.
The situation was brought under control after the BMC agreed to give the trustees of Mehboob E Subhani mosque in Dharavi five days to remove the encroachment on their own.
indianexpress.com
