Construction of proposed mosque in Ayodhya likely to begin in May

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Ayodhya mandated by the Supreme Court in its Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case verdict is expected to begin in May, people associated with the project have said. The Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation Trust, which is tasked with building the mosque in Ayodhya's Dhannipur, also intends to appoint in-charges in different states starting in February to raise funds. Settling a fractious issue that goes back more than a century, the Supreme Court in a historic verdict on November 9, 2019, backed the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya and ruled that an alternative plot be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town.

The construction of the mosque is yet to begin even as the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple is expected to take place on January 22, 2024. Chief trustee of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation Zufar Farooqui said, "The final design of the mosque is likely to be ready by mid-February and it will then go for administrative approval. The site office will be set up in the complex in February." "It is expected that we will be in a position to start construction of the mosque in May next year," Farooqui, who is also the chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, told PTI.

Prof SM Akhtar of Jamia Millia Islamia, who joined the programme through video conferencing, displayed the designs of the mosque and the 200-bed hospital that will come up at the site. A community kitchen (saarvjanik bhojnalaya) and a modern library will also be set up in the complex. "The design of the mosque has been prepared using modern technology, and it will be egg-shaped without any dome.