Budgam, 08-Sep; ; Much to the joy of thousands of devotees, the authorities in Central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Wednesday opened the first floor of Grand mosque at the revered shrine of Hazrat Sheikh Noordin Noorani (RA) Charar-e-Shareef for prayers. The auditor recommended that the Grand Masjid can be utilised but not for the mass gatherings.A letter issued by the Sub District Magistrate Chadoora to the administrator Auqaf Chari Shareef,letter No.DMC/PS-MISL/389-93; Dated: 06.09.2021 and a Subject: Safety audit of Khankah (Mosque) at Charar-e-Shareef reads:In reference to clarification sought by this office vide letter No: SDMC / PS Misl / 21-22 / 364-69 Dated: 26/08/2021, o / C Structural Engineering Section, NIT Srinagar vide its Letter O: NIT / Civil / 21/615 Dated: 28-08-2021 has clarified as under: “However, mass gatherings should be avoided on any slab portions (except for ground floor) till audit report is made available”The order further reads: In light of the above, you are directed to accordingly utilize the structure till the audit report is made available.Earlier, the mosque was closed for prayers after a team of experts declared it unsafe for mass gatherings.The Masjid was built by J&K Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) at the cost of Rs 33 crore, but with increasing low quality construction material and the then government’s apathy, devotees say any further negligence by the concerned authorities will only pave way for any big incident.Locals from the town said that the first floor of the Grand Masjid built by the JKPCC spending crores of rupees had been experiencing “vibrations” for the past five years which had been giving both the management as well as the worshipers a tough time and giving rise to speculations about the use of “substandard material” by the JKPCC.“This mosque is being taken care of by the Waqf Board. It exists in the heart of the model town, but I do not hold out much hope because of the constant neglect by the authorities.A team of experts from NIT Srinagar and JKPCC had inspected the mosque and taken note of all the mosque cracks. Unfortunately, no concrete steps have been taken till now for its restoration but it has been closed,” said a local resident of the area.Another devotee told CNS that it needs to be repaired immediately. “We want the whole structure to be reopened before the annual URS.The mosque is in such a condition due to official apathy. The pathetic state of this Mosque needs to be taken seriously,” the locals said.(CNS)
