Vandalised in 2002,city mosque still in ruins

Nine years after it was demolished during the 2002 riots,Malik Isan mosque in Isanpur area of the city,where World Heritage Day celebrations were organised on Monday,still awaits its restoration but the State Archaeology Department says there is no such plan in the pipeline.

Nine years after it was demolished during the 2002 riots,Malik Isan mosque in Isanpur area of the city,where World Heritage Day celebrations were organised on Monday,still awaits its restoration but the State Archaeology Department says there is no such plan in the pipeline.

The 12th Finance Commission had made a Rs 12-lakh allocation for the repairs and restoration of monuments in the state but sources in the State Archaeology Department said the grant could not be utilised for want of skilled workers and it lapsed by March 2010 when the Commissions tenure ended.

When the 13th Finance Commission came,it did not provide for any grant for the restoration of this monument, sources said.

They added that efforts may be undertaken to seek grants from the state government now.

Officials said the restoration work itself would take at least five years if it were to begin today.

When contacted,Y S Rawat,director of State Archaeology Department,said,Nothing has happened since the last meeting on the issue about a year ago. There is no provision in the 13th Finance Commission for specific grants and we are not doing anything further for now.

During the 2002 riots,the monument was already under repairs in the wake of the January 2001 earthquake when the rioting mob attacked it and even made good with the repairs equipment.

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