Amid massive protest, BMC team withdraws from Dharavi; mosque trustees say they will demolish alleged illegal portion themselves
Residents protest the demolition action at Mehboob E Subhani mosque in Dharavi, resulting in damage to a BMC vehicle. Pics/Shadab Khan
Saturday morning brought heavy tension to Dharavi as the BMC attempted to carry out plans to demolish an allegedly illegally constructed portion of a mosque there. However, civic officials were forced to withdraw from the area following massive protests. Local residents have now told the Corporation they will demolish the controversial portion on their own.
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Around 9 am on Saturday, a BMC team arrived in Dharavi amid heavy police bandobast to demolish the alleged illegal construction at the Mehboob E Subhani mosque on Dharavi’s 90 Feet Road. The situation remained tense for more than two hours, and all traffic came to a standstill as hundreds of people assembled outside the Dharavi police station in protest. A delegation from the mosque held talks with BMC officials and Dharavi police. The discussions ended with the trustees submitting a letter to BMC’s deputy commissioner of Zone 2 and assistant commissioner of the G-North ward, seeking a few days’ time to remove the encroachment.
A civic official said that the BMC had earlier issued a notice to the mosque Trust over the encroachment. An activist from Dharavi said the mosque is around 25 to 30 years old, adding that its trustees moved court after receiving the BMC’s notice last year. On Saturday, the Corporation issued a statement confirming that the action had been halted. As a precautionary measure, heavy police presence has been deployed in the area. DCP (Zone 5) Tejaswi Satpute said, “The situation is normal now. People should refrain from sharing any fake or misleading message on social media.”
Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad arrived in Dharavi to announce that the demolirtion had been cancelled following talks with CM Eknath Shinde. On the other hand, BJP leader Kirit Somaiyya said he has written to deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis to demand action against “unauthorised mosques and land jihad”. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray accused the authorities of attempting to incite communal conflict.
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