LUCKNOW: At a time when Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is set to hold the mega event of ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, UP Sunni Central Waqf Board (UPSCWB) on Wednesday announced a 15-member trust for the construction of a mosque in Raunahi, 20 km from the temple town.
Notably, Uttar Pradesh government had allocated five-acre land to UP Sunni Central Waqf Board in Raunahi, a township, for construction of a mosque in compliance with the Supreme Court’s November 9, 2019 order.
While settling the age-old vexed issue involving a title suit pertaining to disputed 2.77 acre land on Ramjanmabhoomi premises, the apex court had handed it over the Hindu parties for temple construction while directing the UP government to allocate five-acre alternative land to Sunni Waqf Board in and around Ayodhya for construction of a mosque.
The five-acre land allocated to the Sunni Waqf Board falls under Sohawal tehsil in Ayodhya district but it is 20 km away from the periphery of Ram Janmabhoomi premises.
Announcing the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation Trust, the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board declared the names of nine of the 15 members on Wednesday. The rest six names will be announced later. As per the Waqf Board sources, the trust would facilitate the construction of a mosque along with other facilities on the five-acre land.
Prominent among the nine members whose names were announced on Wednesday included Sunni Central Waq Board chairman Zufar Ahmad Farooqui as head the trust, Atahar Hussain as its secretary. Faiz Aftab has been appointed treasurer of the trust. Besides, Mohammad Junaid Siddiqui, Sheikh Saiduzaman, Mohammad Rashid and Imran Ahmad are among the members.
Moreover, trust secretary Atahar Hussain has been nominated as an official spokesperson of the newly formed trust. The other facilities to be constructed on the land include a hospital, a library, a school, and an institution to promote activities related to Islam. The trust would act towards striking peace and coordination among Hindus and Muslims, said a source.