Sunni Waqf Board to accept alternative land near Ayodhya offered by UP government

The size of a mosque and the area it would occupy in the site is yet to be decided

A general view of Ayodhya.

The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board on Monday decided to accept the five acres of land allotted to it for building a mosque Supreme Court verdict in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title suit. 

The State government had earlier in February allotted five acres in Dhannipur village in Sohawal tehsil of Ayodhya, around 25 km from the site where the Babri Masjid once stood.

Also read: All you need to know about the Ayodhya verdict

Waqf Board chairperson Zufar Faruqi on Monday, after a meeting, announced that the board had accepted the land and would constitute a Trust to construct a mosque at the site.

Along with the mosque, the Trust would also construct a centre showcasing Indo-Islamic culture of several centuries, a centre for research and study of Indo-Islamic culture, a charitable hospital, a public library and other public utilities at the site, said Mr. Faruqi.

The size of the mosque and the area it would occupy are not yet known. The composition of the Trust would also be revealed at a later stage, Mr. Faruqi said. 

The mosque would be constructed considering the “local requirements”, he said when asked about the probable area it would cover.