Ujjain Shahi Masjid Portion Removal to Continue for Road-Widening Project

Voluntary removal of a portion of the historic Shahi Masjid in Ujjain will continue from Tuesday as the Muslim community has agreed to cooperate with the road-widening project being undertaken ahead of the 2028 Simhastha Kumbh Mela, a mosque committee member said.

Numainda Committee member Fahim Sikandar said an agreement was reached after discussions between the local administration, Shahar Qazi and mosque committee officials to carry out the work peacefully.

He said the community respects the road-widening project and is cooperating with the removal of the portion of the mosque that falls within the proposed alignment.

Sikandar said the committee initially sought to protect the religious structure as much as possible. However, after discussions with senior members, it was decided to voluntarily remove the affected section.

The administration had initially not brought demolition machinery, following which community members themselves began removing part of the mosque wall, he said.

The exact extent of demolition is yet to be finalised, with discussions reportedly focusing on removal of three to eight feet of the structure. Lawyer Kuldeep Pathak, who represented one of the Muslim parties, said the administration had initially sought removal of about 9.5 feet, while the agreement provided for removal of around three feet.

The work is expected to take seven to eight days, with machinery to be deployed if required. Safety measures will be given priority during the process, Sikandar said. Tensions had flared in the city on Monday after protesters opposed the proposed demolition. Police used tear gas shells to disperse a crowd that allegedly hurled stones.

Later, the Madhya Pradesh High Court's Indore bench disposed of two writ appeals after the Muslim side and Ujjain Municipal Corporation informed it that an agreement had been reached.

The court held that the civic body's assurances and interim notice in the Shahi Masjid matter would be binding on the municipal corporation, and directed the parties to abide by the settlement.