- Ujjain mosque removal resumes peacefully after committee-administration agreement.
- Road widening for 2028 Kumbh Mela sparked Monday’s protests.
- High Court recorded settlement; 3-8 feet wall removal confirmed.
The removal of a portion of Ujjain’s historic Shahi Masjid for a road-widening project will resume on Tuesday morning after the mosque management committee and local administration reached an agreement to carry out the work peacefully, a committee member said.
Numainda Committee member Fahim Sikandar said discussions involving the administration, Shahar Qazi and mosque committee officials led to an understanding that the affected section would be removed voluntarily.
The road-widening project is being undertaken ahead of the 2028 Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Ujjain. Sikandar said the Muslim community respected the project and was cooperating with the administration.
3 To 8 Feet Of Wall Under Discussion
Sikandar said the mosque committee had initially tried to protect as much of the religious structure as possible. However, after no consensus could be reached on an alternative, the decision was taken to remove the portion that falls in the path of the road project.
He said the administration initially did not bring demolition machinery and equipment, following which community members themselves began removing the affected section of the mosque wall.
The exact extent of the structure to be removed has not yet been finalised, Sikandar said. Discussions are underway on whether around three to eight feet of the wall needs to be demolished.
According to lawyer Kuldeep Pathak, who represented one of the Muslim parties, the civic authorities had initially sought removal of around 9.5 feet of the mosque. Under the agreement, however, the parties had reached a settlement for removal of around three feet.
Sikandar said the work could take seven to eight days and machines would be used if necessary. He added that safety would remain a priority during the exercise.
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Stone-Pelting After Tensions In Ujjain
The decision to remove part of the mosque had triggered tension in Ujjain on Monday.
Sikandar said the decision was not communicated to everyone concerned on Sunday night, leading to unease that later escalated into stone-pelting. Police subsequently used tear gas shells to disperse a crowd protesting the proposed removal, officials said.
Sikandar said the situation calmed after senior members explained that the removal was being carried out voluntarily following the agreement with the administration.
The work will resume on Tuesday morning, he said.
Madhya Pradesh High Court Records Settlement
The developments followed a hearing before the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s Indore bench, which disposed of two writ appeals concerning the proposed removal of the mosque portion for the road-widening project.
A bench of Justices Subodh Abhyankar and Jai Kumar Pillai disposed of the separate appeals after the Muslim parties informed the court that a settlement had been reached with the Ujjain Municipal Corporation.
The court also held that the assurances given by the civic body and its interim notice in the Shahi Masjid matter would be binding on the corporation.
Pathak said the Muslim side’s appeal was disposed of on the basis of the agreement reached between the Ujjain Municipal Corporation and the committee managing the mosque. He said the court directed both sides to abide by the settlement.
The mosque committee has maintained that the community is cooperating with the road-widening work being undertaken ahead of the 2028 Simhastha Kumbh Mela while seeking to limit the impact on the historic religious structure.
(With inputs from PTI)
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