HYDERABAD: THE 400-year-old Daira Mir Momin in Moghalpura was reportedly dismantled on Saturday by private contractors, in an attempt to build a boundary wall around the graveyard. In a letter to the Moghalpura Police Station, the managing committee of the structure mentioned that they were alerted by the Daira staff about unauthorised digging activities on Saturday afternoon.
“Upon enquiry, it was found that a man named Raheel was conducting the work. Over 200 square yard area, along with many graves, have been dismantled. The need for a boundary wall had been under deliberation for some time now, and the GHMC had also approved the plan a year ago. However, no construction had been initiated,” S M Zeeshan Abbas Razvi, general secretary of the managing committee, told Express.
According to Moghalpura SHO Inspector Ravi Kumar, there had been no illegal encroachment. “The prime issue was that the construction should have been initiated from the periphery. However, they started the construction from inside, leading to digging of the area around the graves,” he stated.
The structure is one of the very few Shia graveyards in city. Its significance is marked by the fact that Mir Momin Astarbadi, the architect of Hyderabad city, had been laid to rest here. The structure, however, has been victim to official apathy.