HYDERABAD: The state government has decided to start the work of re-constructing the secretariat mosques that were razed during the demolition of the old secretariat buildings.
The foundation stone for the construction of the two mosques in the new secretariat premises will be laid by Jamia Nizamia university vice-chancellor Mufti Khaleel Ahmed on Thursday.
Sources said that the foundation stones for the construction of a grand temple and a church in the secretariat premises would be laid soon.
Home minister Mahmood Ali, state Waqf board chairman Mohammed Saleem, TRS MLC Farooq Hussain and other government officials on Wednesday inspected the proposed site of construction of the mosques in the secretariat campus.
Though the plan of the TRS government was to simultaneously start the construction work on all three places of worship—temple, mosque and church, a good muhurat to start the temple construction is expected soon, said Mahmood Ali. There were two mosques and a temple in the secretariat premises, which were damaged during the demolition of the old secretariat buildings. As a result, the places of worship were also demolished.
Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had promised the people of the state that a grand new temple and mosques would be constructed along with the new secretariat complex. He also announced that a church too would be constructed in the secretariat campus.
Several Muslim organisations have been demanding re-construction of mosques in the secretariat premises. The AIMIM too had been urging KCR to start construction of the two mosques at the earliest and had also finalised, in consultation with the government and Islamic scholars, a design of the mosques.
There were two mosques in the secretariat campus, one located adjacent to the old C Block and another near the old D Block (both the blocks along with other buildings in the secretariat had been demolished to pave way for the new complex).
