Power, water cut to 100-year-old Delhi mosque after eviction notice

Authorities have disconnected water and electricity supplies to the more than 100-year-old Race Course Mosque in New Delhi after issuing an eviction notice, with several neighbouring households also affected by a demolition drive, officials said yesterday (21 October).

PTI reported, citing senior officials of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), that the disconnections extend beyond the mosque, which is located near the Indian prime minister's residence, affecting several families in the surrounding area.

According to officials, the mosque management received an eviction notice around 19 October and was given six days to vacate the premises.

The notice identified the land as belonging to the Land and Development Office (LDO) under the Indian government and warned against unauthorised occupation and construction.

The NDMC reportedly disconnected the mosque's water and electricity supplies on 7 October.

"There is a demolition drive going on in the area on the court's order. Many properties, including the mosque, got their water and electricity connections disrupted after the LDO's order," a senior NDMC official said on condition of anonymity.

Nearly 700 families are likely to be displaced by the demolition drive in the Race Course Road area.

The mosque, which predates India's independence, is listed as a Grade II heritage monument by the NDMC. However, the LDO maintains that the structure stands on government land and considers it an encroachment.

Officials said residents in the area had been asked to vacate and provided with alternative accommodation a few kilometres away.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the mosque's future, prayers were offered there on Tuesday, officials said.