Telangana govt to build mosque damaged during demolition of old Secretariat

The State government on Wednesday persuaded the Telangana High Court that it would construct a new mosque on the campus of the proposed new Secretariat complex. This comes after the mosque got damaged during the demolition operation of the old Secretariat.

Hyderabad:Telangana State government on Thursday said it will construct a new mosque on the campus of the proposed new Secretariat complex. The Government counsel stated this before the Justice who was hearing a petition filed by Zakir Hussain Jaweed, Advocate, Bar Council Member and Telangana State Waqf Board Member.

"There were two mosques with attached property 647.60 square yards inside Telangana State Secretariat complex. The State Cabinet has passed a proposal to build a new secretariat. We were told that during the dismantling, these mosques would be damaged, hence to safeguard the mosques I had filed a writ petition," Jaweed said while speaking to a news agency.

"It was placed on the bench and argument was held on Wednesday. The State government replied that during the demolition, by mistake the debris of secretariat fell on the Mosque and it was damaged and it shall definitely construct a mosque. I am urging Asaduddin Owaisi to request the Chief Minister that a new structure must be constructed," the petitioner said.

The petitioner further said that it is the responsibility of the State government to protect the properties of the Waqf Board. After the High Court gave its clearance to the construction of a new secretariat, the Telangana government authorities had started demolishing the secretariat from the night of July 6.

On Thursday, the Telangana High Court extended the temporary stay order on the demolition of buildings of the State Secretariat till July 17.

(With ANI inputs)