Varanasi, March 5 (IANS): The chief executive officer (CEO) of Shri Kashi Vishwanath temple trust, Vishwa Bhushan Mishra, has moved an application before the court of the district judge to seek repair of the roof of southern cellar of Gyanvapi mosque.

The application moved on Monday said that a stone had fallen from the roof due to the vibrations caused by the crowd offering namaz.

The temple trust CEO also sought a check on the gathering of Muslims reaching Gyanvapi mosque to offer prayers on the roof of the southern cellar, said Rajesh Mishra, special government counsel for Gyanvapi cases.

He added that the court has fixed March 19 as the date for hearing on this plea. In his application, Mishra mentioned that according to the January 31 order of the court of district judge, the temple trust board had arranged a priest for regular worshipping of deities inside the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque.

“The priest offering regular worship in this cellar reported that the walls and roof of the cellar are in a dilapidated condition and water is also leaking from the ceiling. A crack is evident in a beam of the ceiling. The number of persons reaching this mosque to offer namaz has increased massively in the past few weeks”, he said.

He said, “On February 15, many namazis assembled on the roof of the southern cellar. Due to excess load and vibration, a stone piece broke and fell on the floor. The condition of the cellar is posing a life threat to priests, hence repair of the ceiling is a must to avoid occurrence of any untoward incident.”