HYDERABAD: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, who has left heritage activists outraged with his statements placing people’s welfare above protecting heritage monuments, on October 9 went a step further, laying the foundation stone for a ‘minority junior college and hostel building for boys’ at the historic Masjid Kulsum Begum.
Angered by the gross violation of heritage norms, Heritage Telangana officials lodged a complaint with Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Secretary to the government, who also heads the department. Following this, officials have not only decided to block all construction work at the site, but have also decided to file a FIR against the violators.
Masjid Kulsum Begum, also known as Kulsumpura Masjid and Jama Masjid Karwan, was built by Kulsum Begum, the daughter of Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah between 1612 and 1626 AD. She had received the masjid as dower from her husband.Decades of neglect have pushed the protected monument into a dilapidated condition, with vegetation growing on its minarets, its walls cracking and the stucco chipping.
Though a concerned executive member of the masjid committee had written to the director of heritage in 2014, no repairs were taken up due to shortage of funds in the department.In the meantime, a shed for offering prayers was also set up in concrete there, a violation of the rules governing heritage monuments.
In the latest violation, Owaisi, accompanied by Karwan MLA Kausar Mohiuddin and party workers, laid the foundation stone in concrete for construction of the junior college and hostel. Construction material was brought into the heritage monument premises and the vegetation that had grown on the ground was cleared.
As Heritage Telangana officials got wind of the violation and failure of the MIM to obtain a no objection certificate from the department, they complained to Sultania on Monday. According to a higher official in the department who doesn’t wish to be named, the department plans to file an FIR against the masjid committee for letting the construction happen.
Interestingly, the Waqf Board has agreed to spend Rs 8.75 crore, the estimated cost for construction of the institution.The official said that the department would be seeking an explanation from the Secretary of the Waqf Board before proceeding further. Assuring that the foundation stone will be removed and construction material moved out of the premises, the official asserted that construction will not be allowed at the heritage monument.
“If they want to build an educational institution for Muslim students, they should seek land from the State government. But destroying a heritage monument is a violation and is punishable,” said Sajjad Shahid, heritage activist.