Hindu Groups Protest Haj House Construction in Ghaziabad

June 29, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Indo-Asian News Service

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080054960

At least 11 activists of the Shiv Sena and Hindu Mahasabha were arrested in Ghaziabad Sunday as they tried to disrupt work at the under construction Haj House, which is proposed to be a halting place for Haj pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh.

The foundation stone of the Haj House, to be built on the banks of Hindon River in Ghaziabad, was laid by then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav March 30, 2005.

Hindu groups led by the Bharatiya Janta Party, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Shiv Sena and Hindu Maha Sabha oppose the choice of the site saying that gas pipe lines of public sector companies pass below it.

''Haj House would be a public place accessible to all types of people and since gas pipe lines to the filling stations are passing through the same place, a small spark could explode the whole thing,'' said Mahesh Ahuja, organizing secretary of Shiv Sena.