Protest over proposed Haj House in Dwarka

NEW DELHI: A group of residents from Dwarka and nearby urban villages on Friday staged a protest against the construction of a proposed Haj house in Dwarka’s Sector 22, and said such a building may lead to a “law-and-order problem” in their area, even as several other residents took to social media to claim that the protest was being spearheaded by right-wing groups.

Protest leader Ajit Swami, who is also the president of the All Dwarka Residents Federation (ADRF), claimed otherwise and said his federation, which has over 300 villages near Dawrka as members, is leading the protests.

“We have written to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, who is also the DDA chairperson, asking him to cancel land allotment made for Haj House. There will be a law-and-order problem if the Haj house is constructed here,” said Swami.

Officials in the LG’S office did not respond to requests for comment.

“The money for the construction could be used for another noble cause,” he said, and added that protests will continue till the land allotment is cancelled.

It is to be noted that Delhi does not have a Haj house unlike other states, even though the national capital is the largest embarkation point for the pilgrimage in the country. Nearly 15,000-20,000 Muslims from Delhi, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, western Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh leave for Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims, from Delhi every year and they usually stay in camps set up at Ramlila Maidan and Dargah Faiz Illahi before flying out.

According to the details of the construction, the proposed Haj house will be able to accommodate at least 350 pilgrims at one time. An area of around 5,000sqm has been allotted for the project, show DDA records.

AAP Seelampur MLA Abdul Rehman, a nominated member of the Delhi State Haj Committee, said the protests were “politically motivated”.

“The land where the house in being built does not belong to any private person, not has it been usurped or encroached by anyone... Some are out to divide the country on religious lines and we request the government to act against such motivated protests.”