News Post India

Jama Masjid Beautification Project Fails To Take Off

Sunday 10th of February 2008
The pristine glory of the 17th century Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque in Delhi's old quarters, is nowhere close to being restored as a Rs.2.5-billion project for its beautification has failed to take off.

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan is said to have built the grand mosque in such a manner that it would be visible from the majestic Red Fort. But a cluster of shops and residences called Meena Bazaar completely obstructs this view today.


In view of these encroachments, the Delhi High Court had approved the redevelopment programme for the historic mosque and in October 2006 ordered the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to execute the plan by May 18, 2008.


But with three months to go for the deadline, the work to spruce up the mosque's precincts has not even started. The MCD now says it has now modified the plan, which has been sent for approval to the Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC).


Vijay Singh, project coordinator and MCD deputy commissioner, city zone, told IANS, 'We have redrafted the master plan seen by the court.


'In place of Meena Bazaar we have now conceptualised a community centre and a shopping complex, which will also finance the project.' Incidentally, the bazaar was established by a government agency, the Delhi Development Authority, in 1979 after excavating the land around the magnificent mosque.


Under the new project, the Meena Bazaar area will be brought to its earlier level so that it does not obstruct the view of the Jama Masjid where thousands of devotees gather to offer prayers even today.


'Under the new plan, the 600-odd shopkeepers at Meena Bazaar will be rehabilitated under the lawns at the Parade Ground end. Another 600 illegal shopkeepers around the Kalimullah dargah (near Jama Masjid) will also be given space at the same level.'


Under the original plan, the civic agency had proposed to build a multilevel underground parking on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis at the Parade Ground in front of Red Fort.


'The Delhi High Court had objected to the multi-level parking. So under the new plan a three-level parking lot has been proposed under the lawns towards Subhash Marg,' Singh said.


'Part of the parking will be under the commercial stretch and will be utilised by the residents and shopkeepers of Meena Bazaar.'


'The plan has been now submitted to DUAC and its approval is awaited,' Singh said. 'After getting the approval this month, the MCD hopes to finish the project before 2010.'


Singh was appointed project coordinator by the Delhi High Court to coordinate with different agencies and ensure its timely completion. The court had also barred his transfer until the project was completed.


But the modification of the project has been challenged in the high court, where a petition has been filed seeking Singh's removal for not taking initiatives for timely completion of the project.


-Indo-Asian News Service

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Germany-Cinema/Media/Diaspora (585 words)


Shah Rukh Khan as popular as Pope: German media


By Manik Mehta


Berlin, Feb 10 As German fans drooled over Shah Rukh Khan, the national media shed its perceptions of 'bullock cart India' and trained its attention on the Bollywood superstar when he landed here, with one journalist even saying 'he is as popular as the Pope'.


Shah Rukh was here for the screening of 'Om Shanti Om' at the Berlin Film Festival. Some German television channels suddenly turned their cameras from the Hollywood glitterati to Khan as excited fans let out loud shrieks to greet him at the Berlinale Friday night.


Some channels narrated details of Khan's personal life, his wife Gauri and their two children.


The German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which was highly critical about India and Indians until the mid-1990s, when the world began to notice the South Asian country's economic and technological prowess, said that many people from all over Europe had descended on Berlin to see their favourite star.


'He is as popular as the Pope, but he (Khan) has more sex appeal,' wrote Ekkehard Knoerer in the Berlin tabloid Die Tageszeitung, while trying to capture the mood at the Berlinale.


Many Germany-based Indians and their German friends agree that two factors have gradually changed perceptions about 'bullock cart India', as it was contemptuously referred to in the past by the German media which often resorted to cliches of beggars with maimed bodies on the streets, the sacred cows, the corrupt politicians and the catastrophes.


'The IT revolution and Bollywood have together contributed to a vastly improved image of India's prowess,' said Rudolf Schweizer, a German businessman who frequently visits Bangalore and Hyderabad to oversee work contracted to Indian companies.


'India, along with China, is seen as an economic powerhouse and one of the two fastest growing economies of the world,' he added.


Shah Rukh Friday also announced that he had plans to direct a film in Berlin, but admitted that he had no concrete dates for the shooting.


A spokesman of Eros Entertainment, a film distribution company which has handled many Bollywood blockbusters in Germany, said that 50 prints of 'Om Shanti Om' or OSO, as it is popularly known, would be distributed all over Germany.


'We hope this film will also open the entire European market for us,' he added.


Aside from the film's star-studded cast, particularly Shah Rukh, the theme of reincarnation as depicted in OSO fascinates Germans, many of whom are drawn to Hindu philosophy and the teachings of Indian gurus.


'It's a different and very interesting perspective for many Germans. We may not entirely understand the nuances of Indian culture, but rebirth and reincarnation appeal to many of us,' Ursula Roth, who works as a teacher near Berlin, told IANS.


Perhaps it is the 'illogical and supernatural aspect of the subject which appeals to an otherwise logical-minded people', Roth tried to explain the phenomenal German interest in OSO.


Bollywood has also created a greater interest in Indian cuisine and it is not uncommon to find many Germans frequently shopping for spices in Indian grocery stores that are sprouting in many German cities.


In capital Berlin alone, the number of Indian restaurants has risen sharply from 150 in 2001 to 250 now, according to the Berlin Economic Development Agency.


'This increase augurs well for our business,' says an employee of Choudry Food Traders, which supplies all kinds of products to Indian restaurants and also sells them in its own store.