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Tall buildings choke grand old mosque

By Mandira Nayar

Hidden behind a garbage dump, the Khirki mosque in South Delhi lies forgotten. Photo: Sandeep Saxena

NEW DELHI OCT. 25. Hidden behind a garbage dump, the grand old Khirki Mosque here seems to have been forgotten by its protectors. Barely a five-minute walk from where the Archaeological Survey of India is spending crores to restore the Qilla Rai Pithora walls, it has taken over two years to build a boundary wall around this striking mosque to keep out curious villagers.

While work on the Khirki Mosque wall was in full swing in March 2003, just before the last financial year ended, the labourers "vanished'' soon after. Suffocated by the tall buildings around it, the mosque built by Khan-i-Jahan Junan Shah, Firoz Shah's prime minister, has been left to ruin with only bats for company. Though ASI officials have prepared a "long'' list of buildings which flout the 100 metre rule of prohibited construction, there has been no demolition orders as yet. Only this year, a three-storey building that touches the mosque wall was built, but senior ASI officials are unaware of the situation.

"I am not aware of this particular building but there is a lot of unauthorised construction going on in this area. We are powerless to do anything. Most of this construction is inside the village and it is difficult to keep track of all the buildings. We have taken all appropriate action and informed the police. However, since we are not empowered to take action ourselves and depend on other people, it is not always easy,'' claimed a senior ASI official.

Unauthorised construction might be an issue which the ASI is unequipped to deal, but officials do not seem to be too keen to carry out what they are entrusted to do - conserve. While more than one dome of the mosque collapsed over the years, the building needs structural repairs which has been pending for years. "The chajja stones need to be replaced. The terrace also needs some repair work, but it is very costly to dump material there as the monument is not easily accessible. We have prepared a plan though,'' claimed a senior ASI official.

One of the seven mosques built by Khan-i-Jahan Junan Shah, Khirki unfortunately is not the only mosque built by him which is fighting a losing battle for survival. Begumpuri Masjid in Sarvapriya Vihar suffers a similar fate. In urgent need of conservation, its new owners - ASI -- had sanctioned a new floor for this crumbling monument. However, the decaying structure is still begging for attention.

Another building where the 100 metre rule is being flouted is the "Jami'' or public masjid built during the reign of Delhi's maverick king, Mohammad bin Tughlaq. Today it is silently surrendering to new buildings which are slowing inching towards it. While conservationists have gone to court to save it, experts believe it might be too late.

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