Muslim leaders raise concerns over curbs on nonbu kanji preparation near Coimbatore airport

COIMBATORE: Muslim leaders and organisations in Coimbatore have raised concerns over police restrictions on the preparation and distribution of nonbu kanji on mosque land near Coimbatore International Airport.M Abdul Hakeem, secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), said many Muslims live around SITRA. As the Masjid-e-Taqwa building is small, worshippers regularly offer prayers on govt land near the airport. He said the jamaat had bought five cents of land for the mosque and was planning to construct a new building there.He said when they tried to prepare and distribute nonbu kanji (a gruel) this year, police stopped them, citing potential law-and-order issues. He added that they had approached city police commissioner N Kannan and district collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar to resolve the issue.A jamaat member said they were not doing anything illegal. “We are distributing nonbu kanji on the jamaat premises,” he said. He alleged that whenever they conducted religious activities, members of Hindu organisations submitted petitions to the police claiming it could lead to law-and-order problems, even though residents were not opposing it.A senior police officer said talks to resolve the issue were under way.