An illegal construction of a dargah near the Nizamuddin area of Delhi was bulldozed on Friday, 31st March 2023, by the Delhi PWD. A large number of Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed for security during the action. With tight security arrangements, the PWD team used bulldozers to demolish the illegal construction near the mosque in the Hazrat Nizamuddin area opposite Mathura Road.
The demolished structure was known as the Dargah of Syed Abdullah Bhurai Shah Baba. Yusuf Beg, the caretaker of this alleged Mazar, said, “This tomb is about 500 years old. This is from the time when there was neither a road nor a footpath. I talked with the DM recently. At that time he asked us to remove some parts. We removed the 13-meter part. Still, this action was taken. The PWD team removed the tin shed, and demolished two rooms and walls.”
According to PWD, a notice was issued to remove the encroachment by this Mazar. The bulldozers demolished the structure of the dargah and rooms where the caretaker lived so that the footpath can be used by pedestrians. However, the tombs have been kept intact. The caretaker of the Dargah said that the land belongs to the Waqf board, while the DM says that they need this space for footpaths. Notably, Delhi Development Authorities and the Waqf board are already having a dispute regarding the land behind the demolished dargah.
The PWD department is carrying out an encroachment demolition drive in Delhi for the last few days. Recently, the stairs encroaching the footpath in front of the under-construction Congress headquarters on the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Road were also bulldozed by PWD.
