Ayodhya

Pune Municipal Corporation

Avinash

Masjid-E-Aqsa’s portion that is to be given up used to house the area where namaz is offered

Trustees end 15-yr-old logjam over the land parcel off Gunjan Chowk that would help connect Shivane and Kharadi along the Mula-Mutha; PMC to build a floor for the mosque as ‘goodwill gesture’, tooThe Supreme Court’s November 9 ruling on the long-disputedissue has led to a peaceful understanding of the situation by both Hindus and Muslims, and also had some ripple effects across the country. Showing such maturity, the trust of a mosque in the busy Gunjan Chowk area of Yerwada has offered land free of cost for a road that will link Shivane and Kharadi along the river, after a 15-year deadlock over the issue.Once completed, the development plan (DP) road, around 25 km long and connecting Shivane on the southwestern fringes to Kharadi on the city’s northeast, will cut down commute time as the Nagar Road remains congested throughout the day.Trustees of the 60-year-old mosque, known as Masjid-E-Aqsa, had locked horns with(PMC) over land acquisition as a major part of it was getting affected because of the proposed roadwork. A meeting between community leaders, local politicos and civic officials proved crucial to end the deadlock.As the trustees decided to give the land parcel free of cost to the PMC road department, the civic body will build a floor for the mosque as a “goodwill gesture”. Earlier, the trust refused to part with any land portion to the PMC road department as the mosque’s tin-shed shelters, built to offer namaz, were to be demolished. The shelters are seating arrangements for over 300 people. In case of land acquisition, the trustees felt, there was no space available for the namazis, especially on Fridays when hundreds join the prayers.Talking to Mirror, local corporatorRaj Salve said, “The community itself showed the willingness to finish this long-pending deadlock. We only brought both parties together. Several meetings were held in the past but there was no way out. Because of this missing link, the work of Kharadi-Gunjan Chowk riverbed DP road’s work could not progress. We are happy that the community has played a role to establish peace and harmony.Because of no land acquisition on this stretch, the road project was virtually stalled. Since traffic on Nagar Road has become unbearable, we are happy that the issue is resolved now.”Hasan Khan, chairperson of Masjid-E-Aqsa trust, said, “The land was part of the mosque and used for prayers for 30 years. But we realised that this small sacrifice will ease the life of lakhs of commuters passing through this stretch. We had noted that over a land dispute, like Ayodhya, there is always a bitterness between two communities. We wanted to finish this deadlock instead of approaching courts or any other authorities. We also realised that with the construction of road, we will also be part of the beneficiaries.”Startled by the turn of events, PMC road department head Aniruddha Pawaskar said, “This was a surprising but positive development for us. Only because of the scuffle over this stretch, the entire roadwork was stuck. The link between Kharadi and Shivane via Yerwada was disturbed because of this long-pending issue. The mosque authorities never demanded any compensation in the form of money, floor space index (FSI) or transfer of development rights (TDR). In return as a goodwill gesture, we have decided to build a floor on the mosque which will be free of cost.”