Ujjain, Sep 28 — Members of the Muslim community on Monday began voluntarily removing a portion of the Shahi Masjid at Chhatri Chowk in Ujjain that falls within the alignment of a road being widened ahead of Simhastha 2028, following an agreement reached with the district administration.
Ujjain Collector Roshan Kumar Singh said the decision followed a meeting held on Sunday night between senior officials, including him and Superintendent of Police Pradeep Sharma, and representatives of the Muslim community. It was agreed that community members would remove the portion of the religious structure that falls within the road-widening alignment.
The removal work began on Monday morning in the presence of administrative and police officials. “Members of the community themselves are removing the affected portion of the Shahi Masjid. The work is proceeding without any hindrance,” Singh said in a statement issued on Monday night.
The road-widening project is part of preparations for Simhastha 2028. It aims to improve connectivity and ease the movement of pilgrims and religious processions through congested areas of the temple city.
The work was briefly disrupted in the morning after a crowd gathered at the site and stones were allegedly thrown at police personnel deployed there. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd and brought the situation under control. Security was subsequently strengthened around Chhatri Chowk, while senior administrative and police officers remained at the site to supervise the work and maintain law and order.
Singh appealed to residents to maintain peace and avoid believing or spreading rumours. “People from all sections of society and all religions are enthusiastically participating in the road-widening work in response to the call of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. I appeal to the public not to heed rumours. The situation is peaceful and under control,” he said.
Ujjain City Qazi Khaliqur Rahman, along with community office-bearers and senior members, also appealed to Muslim community members to maintain peace and ignore rumours. They said the mosque issue had been resolved through mutual discussions and urged people to cooperate with the administration.
Police said action was being taken against those involved in the morning disturbance and that CCTV footage and other recordings were being examined to identify those allegedly involved in the stone-pelting.
Divisional Commissioner Ashish Singh, ADG Rakesh Gupta, DIG Navneet Bhasin, Collector Singh, SP Sharma and Municipal Commissioner Abhilash Mishra remained at the site with their teams to oversee the road-widening work and security arrangements.
The affected portion of the mosque falls on an important road stretch in the old city being widened as part of preparations for Simhastha 2028, with the administration seeking to facilitate pilgrim movement and major religious processions during the event.
Legal proceedings on the proposed removal also concluded on Monday, with the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s Indore bench disposing of two appeals after petitioners told the court they had reached an agreement with the Ujjain Municipal Corporation. The court noted the agreement and the civic body's assurances and ended the appeals.