Kolkata: Namazis splurge, city's mosques get a makeover
KOLKATA: Lal Masjid, a nondescript two-storeyed building in Muslim-dominated Topsia till three years ago, now stands tall as a four-storeyed grand structure in the neighbourhood's rundown buildings and slum quarters.
"Close to Rs 90 lakh was put into renovating Lal Masjid," said a senior Wakf Board official, refusing to be identified.
Some 7 km away from the Topsia, the Moula Ali Dargah at Entally too has had a similar twist of fate. The dilapidated structure is getting a makeover at an investment of around Rs 50 lakh.
Mosques in Kolkata are not only getting renovated, they are also being expanded and decked up at investments that draw curious frowns.
Sprawled over some 11,000 square feet of land in Chitpur in central Kolkata, the 100-year-old Nakhoda Masjid is also getting a facelift with a budget of Rs 20 lakh.
In the last three years, about 250 out of the 300 fully functional mosques in Kolkata have taken up renovations on various scales depending on the funds that the masjid committees have been able to collect, according to Maulana Md Shafique Qasmi, the imam of the mosque.
"Not only the big ones, a lot of local mosques too have been renovated and expanded. In the last three years, 200-odd mosques have been air-conditioned in the city to make them more comfortab le for the namazis," said Nurur Rahman Barkati, the Shahi Imam of Kolkata's Tipu Sultan Masjid.
Muslims account for around 30 per cent of the population in Bengal and close to 15 per cent of Kolkata residents. In step with growth in the city's population, the community too has expanded in strength through the last few years, creating demand for more space at masjids.
"Some people also said that wider space in Masjids would enable the namazis to say their prayers in the mosque premises and free up the streets," Qasmi said. "The money comes from the namazis (worshippers)," claimed Nurur Rahman Barkati, the Shahi Imam of Kolkata's Tipu Sultan Masjid.
"There was no use of public funds. The entire renovation was out of the estate's income and carried out by the mutawalli of the estate," the Wakf Board official said when asked about the source of the money spent on giving the Lal Masjid a facelift.
The state government too has doled out Rs 2,500 crore to the minority affairs and madrasa education department. Two Hajj Houses have recently been set up in the city. The latest one, a Rs 100 crore property, houses a mosque and an auditorium in the 12-storeyed building to accommodate up to 3,000 worshippers.
"Close to Rs 90 lakh was put into renovating Lal Masjid," said a senior Wakf Board official, refusing to be identified.
Some 7 km away from the Topsia, the Moula Ali Dargah at Entally too has had a similar twist of fate. The dilapidated structure is getting a makeover at an investment of around Rs 50 lakh.
Mosques in Kolkata are not only getting renovated, they are also being expanded and decked up at investments that draw curious frowns.
Sprawled over some 11,000 square feet of land in Chitpur in central Kolkata, the 100-year-old Nakhoda Masjid is also getting a facelift with a budget of Rs 20 lakh.
In the last three years, about 250 out of the 300 fully functional mosques in Kolkata have taken up renovations on various scales depending on the funds that the masjid committees have been able to collect, according to Maulana Md Shafique Qasmi, the imam of the mosque.
"Not only the big ones, a lot of local mosques too have been renovated and expanded. In the last three years, 200-odd mosques have been air-conditioned in the city to make them more comfortab le for the namazis," said Nurur Rahman Barkati, the Shahi Imam of Kolkata's Tipu Sultan Masjid.
Muslims account for around 30 per cent of the population in Bengal and close to 15 per cent of Kolkata residents. In step with growth in the city's population, the community too has expanded in strength through the last few years, creating demand for more space at masjids.
"Some people also said that wider space in Masjids would enable the namazis to say their prayers in the mosque premises and free up the streets," Qasmi said. "The money comes from the namazis (worshippers)," claimed Nurur Rahman Barkati, the Shahi Imam of Kolkata's Tipu Sultan Masjid.
"There was no use of public funds. The entire renovation was out of the estate's income and carried out by the mutawalli of the estate," the Wakf Board official said when asked about the source of the money spent on giving the Lal Masjid a facelift.
The state government too has doled out Rs 2,500 crore to the minority affairs and madrasa education department. Two Hajj Houses have recently been set up in the city. The latest one, a Rs 100 crore property, houses a mosque and an auditorium in the 12-storeyed building to accommodate up to 3,000 worshippers.
