Srinagar, Sep 30: Peoples Democratic President (PDP) and former chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti has said that if government is serious about building cancer hospital and developing a playground for the youngsters, it should use Tattoo ground instead of Eidgah.
“From quite a long time, a lot of talk is happening about the land of Eidgah. Sometime they say they will use
its land for construction of Cancer hospital and some other time they say its land will be utilized for the development of playground,” Mehbooba while addressing to media.
“They tend to forget that this place (Edigah) is used for the worship of Allah. And this land has been demarcated for congregational prayers. So if you want to change its usage, it is important to discuss it with the Muslim community and take their view point into consideration”.
She said if the Government of India (GOI) is so worried about construction of a cancer hospital in Kashmir, it should not first built it in the residential areas since the hospital waste have a harmful bearings on the local populace.
“If they are serious and want to really construct a cancer hospital and a playground, then they have hundreds of kanals of land in Tatoo ground which is lying vacant. They can even create a world class stadium there”.
“There is enough land in Tatoo ground for such purposes. Why are they after eidgah only? In our Edigah we offer our eid prayers and also congregational prayers. Now they they want it to close it down as well”.
She said she requests the governor that if govt wants to construct cancer hospital or develop a playground, then utilize the land available at Tatoo ground for those very purposes
“But do not fiddle with the land of Eidgah,” Mehbooba said.
From Mir Mohd Hamdani in the 15th century to present day our History and religious sentiments are associated with Eidgah. Revered saints Sheikh ul Aalam & Sheikh Hamza Makhdoomi have delivered sermons there, the PDP said.
The government has earlier said that it is planning to build sports turf and a cancer hospital in Eidgah.
"Why not use Tattoo ground instead of Eidgah if govt is serious about building a Cancer Hospital or turning it into a playground" PDP Prez @MehboobaMufti pic.twitter.com/TivTRvKgDm
— J&K PDP (@jkpdp) September 30, 2022
PDP Statement
Cautioning the administration over fiddling with the sentiments of the people of Kashmir and properties of the Muslim community, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba repeated her call for the government to revisit its policies which are being implemented rapidly and without any regard to law, interests or sentiments of the people.
Referring to the latest statements from the government and some waqf authorities on converting Eid Gah for different kinds of facilities which are at cross purposes with the Wakf laws and the specific use for which land had been donated by Mir Syed Ali Hamdani to Muslims of Kashmir some 600 years back.
“The statements issued about Eid Gah have hurt the sentiments of local Muslim populace and they are watching the situation with lots of apprehensions and anything done against the wishes of the people and denying the space to the locals for prayers and for whatever use they have traditionally been putting it to will be fraught with dangers.”
The PDP President asked the government not to test the patience of the people but unfortunately, said Mehbooba, “ our advice isn’t heeded and the government is creating a pressure cooker kind of situation in the state, trying to hit the economic, social, cultural, religious and political interests of the people.” There’s a limit to which people can take this daily dose of humiliation and deprivation, she said.
She said it seems the government has unleashed a war against the people, especially against the people of Kashmir and Many areas of Jammu.
“The need of the hour is that the government must feel the heartbeats of the people and respond to them positively. The strong arm tactics have historically failed in Kashmir and Kashmir is not not going to change its basic peace loving character or cultural and religious identity under any pressure. The resistance for upholding their constitutional, legal, and economic rights will continue,” she said, adding, that the assault unleashed upon the fruit industry is the latest example of the government’s vindictive policies and how its machinery is hell-bent on depriving people of their livelihoods.
Mehbooba said that this government has no representative character and no authority to take decisions on behalf of any community in the state, especially the Muslim community to which the Waqf properties belong.
“But now, it is not only the government that is directly encroaching upon this, but the BJP has unleashed its other associate bodies to claim land that has been always in the possession of the Muslim community and this trend has started in Pir Panchal area where people are very upset about creating fissures in the name of Waqf property and disputes that they are trying to generate about it.” She said it’s mind boggling that this administration is trying to disturb the peace of Peer Panchal, Chenab and other areas even when serious incidents of militancy are reported regularly from there. The Godi media and the government agencies are underplaying this serious situation in Jammu just because the state is under direct central rule for more than four years and their are no local scapegoats now to put the blame on, Mehbooba said.