Mosque construction in Ayodhya not yet started due to lack of funds: Islamic Foundation secretary

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 5 (ANI): Despite the verdict of the Supreme Court awarding land for the construction of a mosque in Ayodhya, the construction work has not yet begun due to lack of funds, said Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) secretary Athar Hussain on Thursday.
"The Supreme Court in its verdict awarded 5 acres of land to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board for the construction of a mosque, but due to lack of funds, the construction work has not yet started," Hussain told ANI.
The Supreme Court in its verdict in November 2019 had awarded 5 acres of land to the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board for mosque construction.
The IICF trust was set up by the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board to oversee and collect funds for the construction of the mosque in Ayodhya.
According to Hussain, the IICF trust decided to build a hospital, a community kitchen and a mosque on that 5-acre of land awarded by the apex court.
"In February 2023, the layout of the construction site was submitted by the Trust and was approved by the Ayodhya Development Authority, after which the Trust got an idea of the budget in which the mosque could be built," Hussain added.
Athar Hussain said that according to the layout and idea, the funds to be spent on the mosque, hospital and community kitchen were estimated at about Rs 300 crore, of which Rs 280 crore would be spent on the hospital and community kitchen.
"Thus, IICF decided that due to the lack of funds, the mosque will be constructed first and after that the hospital and community kitchen will be built," he added.
Hussain also said that they will soon visit some other cities and interact with organisations that can help them in collecting the funds so that the construction of the mosque could be started.
The apex court judgement in the title suit had also paved the way for the construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya. (ANI)