Conduct safety audit of Safa Masjid: Sudin to Union culture min

Ponda: Days after incessant rain brought down a wall of the historic

Safa Masjid

’s

water

tank, former deputy chief

minister

Ramkrishna ‘

Sudin

’ Dhavalikar has sought a

safety

audit of the

tank

as well as the entire structure of the mosque, which lies in his constituency of Madkai.

In an email addressed to

Union

culture minister G Kishan Reddy and the secretary of the ministry of

culture

— the parent body of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) — Dhavalikar said the historic monument was constructed in the 16th century, and there could be an impact of the tank wall collapse as it is abutting a side of the main mosque structure.

Work to repair the collapsed wall has currently been taken up by the ASI. Dhavalikar has stated that the collapse of the wall has created fear in the minds of visitors, as the structure is of national importance and tourists visit it to experience the “rich culture of historic India”. Thus, the government should take utmost care of the monument, he demanded.

Soon after the wall collapse, the masjid committee had alleged that the movement of heavy vehicles from the national highway stretch in the vicinity had created cracks in the wall, which resulted in the collapse of the wall.

The masjid committee also said that the mosque tank wall had developed some cracks and the ASI had filled the cracks recently. Despite this, the wall collapsed, they said.

Deputy CM and minister for archaeology Chandrakant ‘Babu’ Kavlekar and Ponda guardian minister Govind Gaude also visited the site and inspected the ongoing work. Kavlekar and Gaude have assured the committee that utmost care would be taken to protect the wall.