A burial ground in Dahod town has become bone of contention between the authorities and the Muslim residents of the area.

Muslims in the area have opposed the ongoing construction work near Dargah Chaab Talav Sunni Kabarsthan, alleging several graves on the age-old burial ground have been razed for the project. The construction work is being undertaken by the municipal corporation for a highway project under the tribal development schemes.

“The municipal corporation did not send us any notice before starting the work. There is a stay order dated August 24, 2006, by Principal Civil Judge prohibiting any kind of expansion or changes to the burial ground as the case of possession of the land remains undecided to this date,” said Asif Saiyyad, a member of the Sunni community from Dahod who had recently appealed against the work before District Collector, R M Jadhav.

Saiyyad said nearly 250 graves were razed by bulldozers as opposed to the official version of damage to one or two graves.

“We are constructing a bypass for the state transport buses to improve traffic situation in the town. With the help from the Superintendent of Police, we are making sure that it doesn’t transpire into a communal problem. One or two graves might have been damaged in the process but now our workers are taking extra care,” said Jadhav.

Gulshan Bachani, the President of Dahod Municipality, said some measurements required for the road and an old canal that flows parallel to the road are yet to be done. “The road is on the boundary of the burial ground. Some graves might have got damaged. But this is part of the development work for the tribal people here,” he said.

... contd.