Mosque demolition move sparks stir

Vijayawada: The Inner Ring Road (IRR) project proposed to connect the Kolkata -Chennai and Hyderabad-Machilipatnam highways, triggered a communal divide as demolition of a mosque at Ramavarappadu ring as part of the project, has become imminent in the city. The IRR project is proposed to run for a distance of around 25 kms from Gollapudi, on the Hyderabad -Machilipatnam highway, and joins at Ramavarappadu ring through a flyover on the Kolkata -Chennai national highway.

• IRR project at Ramavarappadu

The Government has taken up the project with a view to freeing the city from traffic snarls at Kanakadurga Temple, Bhavanipuram and RTC bus stand. A flyover has been proposed to link the IRR with the Kolkata -Chennai highway for a distance of 0.7 kms from Innotel hotel.

In the process, a number of houses built on the Krishna-Eluru canal in the particular stretch were already demolished and the victims of displacement were promised to be relocated in Jakkempudi area by the district administration. Now, a mosque that came up in 2003 on the canal bunds is coming in the way of the flyover construction.

Muslims who are the using the mosque as a prayer place, are up in arms against the reported moves of the officials for its demolition. According to Farooq Shubli, a local Muslim leader and member of Masjid Protection Committee, around 500 Muslim families have been using the mosque as a place of worship.

Muslim men go to the mosque to perform ‘namaaz’ five times every day and at least 100 people gather in the Ramavarappadu mosque for every namaaz. Gannavaram mosque, which is around 30 kms away from Ramavarappadu ring, is the only alternative prayer place for these Muslim families. Farooq said, “Our mosque is a prayer place, just like any temple or Gurudwara.

Our sentiments are attached with this Masjid. Moreover, if this mosque is dismantled, we will have to travel 30 kms to go to the closest mosque.” He said that he hoped the Government would come up with an alternative alignment to save the mosque. A Masjid Protection Committee was constituted to take their struggle forward to save their prayer place from the road project.

Relay protests were launched under the aegis of the protection committee by Muslim leaders recently. A section of Muslims are of the view that the TDP’s alliance with the BJP was the reason for the Government turning a blind eye to their pleas for protection of their Masjid.

Incidentally, the Krishna district is dotted with a huge Muslim population- 1.9 lakh Muslim voters under Machilipatnam and two lakh Muslim voters under Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituency. Keeping in mind the numerical strength of Muslims that will decide the fortunes of political parties, local TDP MLA, Vallabhaneni Vamsi, took up their cause but failed in his attempts.

Some TDP leaders are worried over the possible backlash from the Muslim community in the next general elections. Noticeably, Muslim voters offered the TDP a cold shoulder in the previous election because of its alliance with the BJP. CPM leader Ch Babu Rao warned that the TDP would pay a heavy price in the coming elections if it abdicates its secular character.

The Masjid would have been saved if the official machinery was sensitive to the sentiments of a particular religious community and effect changes in the flyover design, he said.