BMC cancels demolition of illegal portion of Dharavi mosque; Mumbai cop says situation under control

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has called off its drive to demolish an allegedly illegal section of a mosque in Dharavi, Asia's largest slum, following large-scale protests by locals, news agency ANI reported.

Tejaswi Satpute, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 5, Mumbai, stated that the situation in Dharavi is calm.

"A large crowd had gathered on 90-foot road in Dharavi, but they dispersed after being requested to leave. The situation is now peaceful. There are several misleading messages circulating on social media. I urge people not to trust these messages," she said.

According to BMC, a notice had been issued regarding the removal of encroachments on the 90-foot road, where the mosque is located.

"Action was taken in line with this notice. However, BMC has decided to give a four to five-day deadline for the encroached structure to be removed voluntarily. The trustees of the mosque have submitted a written request to the Deputy Commissioner of Circle 2 and the Assistant Commissioner of G North Division, assuring that the encroached section will be removed within this period. BMC has accepted this request and clarified that the trustees have been instructed to remove the illegal structure within the stipulated time," a statement from the municipal administration read.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis noted that the decision to demolish the Mumbai mosque was based on a court order.

"The court order mandates the demolition of unauthorised structures. BMC began the process a few days ago, but at that time, a request was made to postpone the demolition until after Eid. Today, when a BMC team arrived, they were again requested to allow four to five more days for the removal of the encroachment. The team has since returned. However, it is unacceptable for anyone to create a law-and-order problem or obstruct the process. I am confident that they will adhere to their written commitment to the BMC," he said.

Commenting on the matter, Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad said, "Today's action has been cancelled. We met the Chief Minister last night and urged him to stop it. Everyone here expressed their views peacefully. It has been cancelled, and people have returned home. I appeal to everyone to maintain peace."

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray added, "This is part of a larger plan to incite Hindu-Muslim riots and create division. Such things never occurred under our government. They speak in terms of caste and religion while their children run the ICC and BCCI, living abroad."

(With ANI inputs)