Noida Sector 58 park filled with water on Friday (Express photo by Praveen Khanna) Noida Sector 58 park filled with water on Friday (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)

After Friday prayers were stopped at Noida’s Sector 58 park and a letter was sent out to companies in the area, telling them that they will be held responsible if their employees offer namaz there, the park was filled with water on Friday. This is a departure from around two weeks ago, when the park was being watered during the evening, keeping in mind people’s prayer timings.

As reported by The Indian Express, the park came into news after the letter was sent by the police to private firms in the area. On December 14, following complaints from local residents, police had asked the crowd not to hold namaz at the park henceforth. Nauman Akhtar, the cleric who used to lead the prayers, was also taken into preventive custody for three days. The administration had later reasoned that religious activities were not allowed in the park.

Saleem, who overlooks the watering process in Sector 58, said: “As part of maintaining green cover, authorities water the park almost daily.

Usually it would happen during the evening as the motor would be switched on around 5 pm. We would also keep in mind the fact that people used to offer namaz during the afternoon. But for the last few days, we have been doing it in the morning for a couple of hours.”

Authorities carry out the watering process for four months during the winter and four months in the summer, with a break during monsoon. “What can we do when the land doesn’t belong to us. Authorities said there was no permission and we stopped prayers immediately. Since then, a lot of people have started offering prayers in other parks near Sectors 63 and 65. It’s their land, they can do what they want,” said Akhtar, the cleric.

People offer namaz at a dargah in Noida’s Sector 54. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna) People offer namaz at a dargah in Noida’s Sector 54. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)

Meanwhile, a mazar in Sector 54 has witnessed a spike in the number of people coming for Friday namaz. “Today there were upwards of 1,000 people. I believe some people came from Sector 58. We are okay with whatever action the government wants to take; we never had trouble and don’t want any in the future,” said Mohammed Shakeel, the cleric leading the prayers.

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