
150-ton Sufi shrine moved after demolition notice in UP
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Bareilly: A Sufi shrine weighing over 150 tons was moved 27 feet using machinery after PWD issued a demolition notice in Sambhal in June. Situated on the Agra-Bijnor state highway, the shrine was relocated with a hydra machine and a crane to free the busy thoroughfare.
A few temples and mosques were either partly or fully demolished in Sambhal in the recent past as part of the ongoing road widening project.
Sambhal tehsildar, Dheerendra Singh, said on Saturday: "The shrine of Yaqoob Shah Ali Chishti was on a PWD road, and we had to give an ultimatum due to road widening work." After inspecting the site a week ago, Singh had extended the demolition deadline to July 24. To save the shrine, which people from all communities visit, the committee decided to relocate it.
The scientific procedure cost around Rs 10 lakh.
Before the move, a seven-foot-deep pit was dug with a bulldozer and an iron-sheet box was built around the shrine to ensure its safety. Subsequently, a new pit was dug 27 feet behind the road and the shrine was relocated in an L-shape there; the entire work began in June.
"We were given an ultimatum until July 24. Work was delayed due to rain. The exact weight was not known as the structure is old.
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Upon examination, the contractor estimated it to be over 150 tons. Now the shrine has been moved, and the dargah's remaining work will be completed soon," said Ragib Hasan, a member of the shrine committee.
The local administration started the process 15 days after the PWD notice. The committee also voluntarily dismantled part of a mosque and madrassa nearby and requested time to relocate the shrine, for which they were granted 15 more days.
Contractor Dilshad Ansari from Roorkee, Uttarakhand, who was part of the project, said, "We've shifted two temples in Uttarakhand in the past. This is the first time we managed to move a mazaar. It was an old mazaar and we had to do it in a meticulous manner."

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