Hyderabad: New secretariat to have temple, mosque & church

Hyderabad: As a symbol of "Ganga Jamuna Tehzeeb "and reflecting the religious tolerance, the Telangana Government has decided to construct a temple, masjid and church in the new Secretariat complex and the foundation stones for all the three places of worships will be laid on a single day after the end of the ensuing Assembly session.

On the request of the Christian community, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday gave his nod to construct a church along with a temple and masjid which have been demolished during razing of Secretariat structures to construct a new one recently. The Government will bear the entire expenditure to be incurred in the construction of holy structures.

The CM held a meeting with the elders from Muslim community at Pragathi Bhavan on Saturday on the construction of new mosque at the Secretariat and other issues. He assured the community that the government would construct two mosques, each in 750 square feet (total 1500 Sq Feet) including one Imam Quarters. The new mosques would be constructed at the same location where they were before the demolition of the old structures. The new mosques after the construction will be handed over to the State Wakf Board.

The temple will be constructed in 1,500 square feet and the holy place will also be handed over to the Endowments department for maintenance.

Since there was a demand from the Christian community that they should also have a church in the new Secretariat, the government will construct the place of worship, KCR said. The chief minister asserted that "Telangana government treats all religions equally. It will practice religious tolerance. It is a symbol of Ganga Jamuna Tehzeeb. Hence, new places of worship are constructed in the new secretariat for all the religions".

KCR also told the delegation that the government will expedite the construction of Anees-ul-Gurbah, the institution which provides shelter and education to the orphaned Muslim children. Already 80 per cent of the construction work has been done and the required Rs 18-crore funds will be released for speedy completion of the works.

The Government already allotted land to set up an Islamic centre in Hyderabad with international standards. The other issues like places for burial grounds, promotion of Urdu as official language were also discussed during the meeting. Home Minister Mohammed Ali and Hyderabad MP MP Asaduddin Owaisi were also present.