haji ali

Feb 2, 2006
Fm: Mrityunjay Bose

Haji Ali's renovation cleared by Centre

MUMBAI: The Centre has cleared a Rs 1.75-crore reconstruction and renovation plan for the Haji Ali Dargah, one of the revered shrines in India – which is located in the Arabian Sea on the western seafront of this commercial capital in Worli. "It is almost after a gap of 45 years that renovation work would be undertaken which is much needed," Anees Ahmed, Maharashtra Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Wakf Minister told the Herald yesterday.According to Abdul Sattar Merchant, the Managing Trustee of Haji Ali Dargah, in 1991 the proposal for reconstruction and renovation was mooted by the trust. On November 11 last year a detailed proposal was sent to the Centre following which Ahmed met Minister of Environment and Forests A Raja. Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh took personal interest in the project to ensure that hurdles coming in way are cleared fast, sources said and added that over the years the 'minars' became weak and water also used to leak from the tomb.Situated at the end of a 500m causeway protruding into the Arabian Sea is the whitewashed Haji Ali Mosque, containing the tomb of a Muslim saint Haji Ali who is believed to have meditated on these very shores. It is said that Haji Ali was a wealthy Muslim merchant who renounced all his worldly belongings before embarking on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He died in Mecca and the casket miraculously drifted and came to the spot where the mosque and tomb were built by his devotes in the early 19th century. The Mosque lies opposite to the famous Mahalakshmi temple and can be approached from Lala Rajpatrai Marg.Haji Ali is a handsome example of Islamic architecture standing on an island. In fact, this holy place is visited by many devotees as well as visitors who are attracted by the beauty of the site. The widespread belief is that whoever prays to the deity here is never disappointed. A number of pilgrims come here for thanksgiving. Haji Ali's sister also followed her brother's footsteps and became his companion in ascetic suffering. There is a mausoleum built for her a little distance away on Worli Bay.The Haji Ali dargah could be accessed from a causeway during low tides.

(This news report was first published in The Maharashtra Herald, Pune)

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