Mounesh Vishwakarma
Daijiworld Media Network – Bantwal (SP)

Bantwal, Jul 8: The survey work, which was conducted as per the orders passed by the Upa Lokayukta relating to land dispute over a piece of land at Nehru Nagar here between Badriya Jumma Masjid and Akkarangady Jumma Masjid, continued for the second day on Monday July 7. The survey work was held under tight police vigil till Monday evening, but the work failed to make the parties concerned happy.

While the president of the managing committee of Badriya Jumma Masjid signed the survey report, office bearers of Akkarangady Jumma Masjid refused to sign the same, resenting the failure of the survey officials to mark the boundaries of 1.49 acre of encroached land as per the written orders of the Upa Lokayukta.

Akkarangady Jumma Masjid is being managed by Akkarangady Jamaat Committee since long. Badriya Jumma Masjid located at Nehru Nagar functioned like a unit of Akkarangady Jumma Masjid till recently. During the previous general body meeting, however, committee members of Badriya Jumma Masjid had decided to organize Jumma Namaaz at the Nehru Nagar Masjid. Akkarangady Jumma Masjid opposed this proposal, and told the other mosque committee not to organize the said namaaz till a land dispute between the two mosques is solved. This issue had given rise to enmity between these two committees, and the situation had been vitiated due to this rivalry.

During February this year, Akkarangady Jamaat Committee, alleging that Badriya Jumma Masjid has been functioning in the land owned by it in Nehru Nagar, applied to the revenue department to conduct survey as per legal requirements and entrust ownership of 1.49 acres of land legally owned by it to the committee. The revenue department kept postponing survey work under one pretext or the other.

Frustrated by this attitude of the revenue department, Akkarangady Jamaat Committee had complained to Bantwal tahsildar and Upa Lokayukta against the supervisor of the survey department. Relating to this episode, joint director in the department of land records, V Prasanna Kumar, had taken to task the officials of survey department for showing lethargy in conducting this survey, besides serving show cause notices on them. Under instructions from the Upa Lokayukta, Saturday July 5 and Monday July 7 had been fixed for survey work, and survey of land measuring about three acres was conducted on these days.

Joint director in the department of survey, V Prasanna Kumar, had passed strict instructions to the officials to conduct survey within a week and report to him thereof, warning them of being subjected to disciplinary action if they continue to employ delaying tactics. Accordingly, revenue officials had begun survey work on Saturday.

Office bearers of Akkarangady Jumma Masjid said that the surveyors had marked the boundaries of graveyard measuring two acres so far, but had failed to do the same relating to 1.49 acres of land located in survey no. 50/1AP3 of Narikombu village. They said that they had not signed the survey report, as the concerned had violated the orders passed by the Upa Lokayukta and joint director of land records. They said they will legally move against surveyor, Anil, and supervisor, Ashok, for their failure to obey the above instructions.

Over 20 policemen were deployed, under the leadership of town police station sub-inspector, Nandakumar, to supervise law and order situation during survey work.