An official flag hoisting and tree plantation drive are all set to mark as the commencement of the construction work for the new mosque to be built in Ayodhya’s Dhannipur village on Republic Day.
The mosque will be constructed on the land allotted by the Supreme Court that is about 25 km away from the Ayodhya Temple where once the Babri Masjid stood before Hindu activists demolished it in the year 1992, triggering a massive Hindu-Muslim war in the country, effects of which are still seen today.
The IICF trust (Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation), the committee entitled to lead the work, said they were deciding to begin the formal work on January 26th at 8.30 am.
On Sunday evening’s meeting, 9 trustees of the trust gathered to discuss the event and the problems being faced by them, including the time gaps due to delays induced by the Income Tax Department’s clearance issuance and procedures involved in getting foreign donations.
Panting of tree saplings is a way to show the project’s aim of serving the community along with the need to raise awareness regarding climate change being the major threat to human-kind, according to the trust’s official release.
“As envisaged in the project, a green area will be developed to have plants from all over the world from the Amazon rainforest to areas having bushfires in Australia and from all different geographical regions of India to create awareness for the imminent threat of climate change,” the release said.
The construction blueprint also includes a hospital, museum, library, community kitchen, a publication house, Indo-Islamic cultural research center already approved by the Ayodhya District Board, and applications for the same will be submitted soon, the IICF said as it plans to begin the soil testing.
A futuristic design of the new mosque was revealed in December where the foundation uncovered the plan of including a glass dome covering a major portion of the mosque with a picturesque garden. Behind the mosque, the design of the new hospital can be seen.
According to the board, a mosque, two centers to highlight the Indo-Islamic culture and study, a charitable hospital, and a public library would be built on the land.
The mosque will not bear its old name, Babri Masjid, the trust said, as it is new construction and does not hold any connection to its older counterpart.
After an extended lawful tussle, the Supreme Court had on November 9 a year ago decided for the development of a Ram sanctuary at the contested site in Ayodhya and guided the Center to distribute an elective five-acre of the land plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building another mosque at a “noticeable” place in the sacred town in Uttar Pradesh.
The mosque in Ayodhya was destroyed on December 6, 1992, by ”kar sevaks” who guaranteed that an antiquated Ram sanctuary remained at a similar site.
