Telangana government said it will construct a temple, church and 2 mosques in new secretariat
The Telangana government on Saturday said it will construct a temple, church and two mosques in the new secretariat complex and the foundation stone for them will be laid after the end of the ensuing Legislative session.
"It was decided to construct one temple, two mosques which were damaged while demolishing the old secretarial buildings at the government costs," an official release from the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's office said on Saturday.
"It was decided to construct them with all the facilities...Since there was a demand from the Christian community that they should also have a church in the new Secretariat, the government will construct the Church," it added.
A delegation led by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi met Chandrasekhar Rao and submitted a memorandum on the construction of mosques.
The government has decided to set up an Islamic centre in Hyderabad with international standards.
A piece of land was allocated for the purpose.
There was some delay in the construction work due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Works on this centre will also be put on fast track very soon, the release said.
The two proposed mosques will have 750 square feet each in an area including one Imam's quarters while the temple will also be constructed in an area of 1,500 square feet, according to the release.
The Chief Minister had earlier expressed regret over the damage caused to places of worship in the old secretariat premises during demolition work in July and said new ones would be built in a more spacious area.
Meanwhile, the Telangana unit of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in an open letter to the chief minister, demanded that the government make a categorical statement about the temple that was pulled down during the demolition of the old Secretariat and also sought action against officials responsible for ''pulling down'' the place of worship.
It wanted the government to call for a meeting with Seers, Swamijis and Hindu religious organisations on the action plan for the reconstruction of the temple. Otherwise, the VHP threatened it would undertake kar seva to construct the temple.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)