Tension prevailed at Ramavarappadu during the wee hours of Monday as a mosque and temple were demolished to pave way for the Inner Ring Road.
Members of Muslim fraternity, which opposed the move by revenue department during the demolition drive, were detained by police. They were later released.
The issue of demolishing the Masjid E Abubakar mosque, an illegal structure on the bund of the Ryves Canal, has been pending for months as Muslims resisted it. Several attempts by officials turned futile. The rest of the structures including houses and commercial establishments were brought down a few weeks ago.
On Monday at 3 a.m., revenue authorities with the help of earth movers demolished the mosque and the temple amid bandobust.
It may be worth mentioning that the district administration has provided alternative land to both places of worship. District Collector Babu A. has announced allotment of a plot measuring six cents at Currency Nagar to the mosque and a sum of Rs.15 lakh from the Wakf Board for building it and another Rs.11 lakh towards its structural component. Similarly, a plot of six cents has been allotted for construction of Sri Veerabrahmendra Swamy temple at Vaddera Colony.
