Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992 (Express Archive)THE INDO-ISLAMIC Cultural Foundation, formed by UP Sunni Waqf Board to build a mosque and other public utilities on the five-acre plot allotted to it in Ayodhya’s Dhannipur village, on Friday said that they have planned to build a mosque that would be the exact size of the Babri Masjid.
“We have decided that the mosque, including its inner courtyard, will be exactly 15,000 square ft, which was the size of the Babri masjid when it was demolished in 1992,” said Trust spokesperson and secretary Athar Hussain.
“We are working to make the hospital like a private facility in terms of services and efficiency and like a government facility in terms of expenses for people. Because of the pandemic, the thought of building a hospital came to us. We would like the hospital to have a centre for heart patients, and also one for treatment of cancer patients where chemotherapy can be done…” said Hussain.
“We have given the inputs regarding requirements for the hospital to our architect, Professor S M Akhtar,” added Hussain. On Tuesday, the Trust had announced that the dean of Jamia Millia Islamia’s architecture department, Prof S M Akhtar, will design the mosque and its surrounding complex.
Hussain said Akhtar has sent his inputs regarding the design of the buildings at the site in Dhannipur village. “There is a shrine in the middle of the five-acres plot. The shrine and the way leading up to it is right in the centre of the five acres land is splitting the land. So, Mr Akhtar has said a few difficulties may be faced in the construction… The mosque has a rule that it must face the west (facing towards Kaaba sharif). That is another issue in the construction,” said Hussain.
He added that the architect said that he would be sending a team for taking measurements of the land again. “Due to technical reasons, he wants to get the land measured again by a team sent by him. He is not content with the measurements sent by us,” said Hussain.
Hussain informed that the Trust has written to retired JNU professor Pushpesh Pant, requesting him to curate the museum. “We will be calling it an archive. We have invited Professor Pant to curate the archive where the focus will be on food, since we feel that food reflects the true confluence of the Indo-Islamic culture,” he said.