Sunni Waqf Board to raise mosque on alternative land allotted to them in Ayodhya case

After deliberations, the Board arrived at a consensus to build a mosque on the allocated land. It also decided to set up a trust to oversee the construction of the proposed mosque on the 5-acre land.
For representational purpose.
For representational purpose.

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board (UPSCWB) on Monday decided to build a mosque on the 5-acre alternative land allotted to it by Uttar Pradesh government at Dhannipur village, on the Lucknow-Ayodhya highway. The Board had earlier confirmed that they had accepted the state’s alternative land offer as not doing so would amount to contempt of court. The piece of land in question is just 20 km away from the temple town. The decision to formally accept the land was taken at a meeting of the Board on Monday.

After deliberations, the Board arrived at a consensus to build a mosque on the allocated land. It also decided to set up a trust to oversee the construction of the proposed mosque on the 5-acre land. It also decided to construct a charitable hospital, a library and an Indo-Islamic Cultural Centre and other public utility facilities on the land allocated to it on February 5. The Board, which was one of the main litigants in the Ayodhya title suit, comprises eight members from different fields.  

However, only six members, including board chairman Zafur Farooqui, Adnan Farooq Shah, Junaid Siddiqui, Sayyad Ahmad Ali, Abrar Ahmad and Juneed Ahmad attended the meeting. Remaining two members, including Abdul Rajjak Khan and Imran Mabood boycotted the Monday meeting.  “The UP Sunni Central Waqf Board has decided to accept the five-acre land allocated to it in compliance of Supreme Court’s November 9, 2019 decision,” said Farooqui.

He said that the board had decided to build a mosque on the land and soon a trust for the same would be set up. On the details of the mosque, its size and name, Farooqui said: “The size of the mosque will be decided keeping in mind local needs.” Farooqui said that the Board had decided to establish an Indo-Islamic Cultural Centre on the land depicting the evolution of Islamic culture in context to India over the centuries. “The centre will also provide facilities for research and study of Indo-Islamic culture,” he said. He added that the trust for building the mosque would be put together soon.

Public utilities to be developed as well
The board has also decided to construct a charitable hospital, a library and an Indo-Islamic Cultural Centre and other public utility facilities on the land allocated to it on February 5. The board comprises eight members

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