Hyderabad: Horses tread as the dead sleep

Hyderabad: The dead are not granted peace even in their final abode. People have encroached upon burial grounds and set up workshops, houses, and shops, while the Telangana State Wakf Board (TSWB) has limited itself to issuing warnings. 

In the Oontwadi graveyard, a Wakf burial ground spread over 3,300 square yards in Jummerat Bazaar, one can find nearly 50 horses and camels tied to the graves. Osman Al Hajri from the Deccan Wakf Protection Society says that they have approached the State Wakf Board as well as the GHMC several times, asking for the graveyards to be cleared up. “The High Court has directed the GHMC to evict the encroachers, but nothing has happened so far. Now, land grabbers have broken a portion of the compound wall to create an access route for themselves. Several other graveyards in Jiyaguda and Karwan have also been encroached upon,” he says. 

A few kilometers away, at the Dargah Hazratha Saidani-Ma-Saheba, a similar situation prevails. Workshops and godowns have been set up within the burial ground. Syed Inayath, a carpenter who works at one of the workshops there, says that the workshop has been operational for several years. “We don’t tamper with the graves; we only work in the spaces between the graves,” he says. 

Shrines across the city are also not spared encroachment. Several stalls have been set up on the graves at the Yousufian Darga in Nampally. A few days ago, the Wakf Board, under the chairmanship of Mohammed Saleemuddin, asked encroachers to move away from the graves. The encroachers then approached the court seeking an alternate site for their businesses. They said that they were paying rent to the Mutawalli (caretaker). 

“The Wakf Board also filed a counter claim. It has been trying to evict them,” said the Mutawalli of the Darga Syed Hussain Shabbir Hussaini. 

At Bodh Ali Shah in Dabeerpura, many houses have been constructed over a period of time. Former corporator Amjadullah Khan says that originally there was only one room. Gradually, more rooms began to be added, and then multiple houses came up. A similar situation prevails at the Godde-ki-Khabaar graveyards near Aghapura. The graveyards at Lal Darwaza, Gowlipura and Chatrinaka have gradually descended into a state of complete neglect.  

Mohammed Saleemuddin, the chairman of the Telangana State Wakf Board, admits that several graveyards have been encroached upon. “Our intentions are clear. All encroachments will be removed with help from the GHMC and the police,” he says. 

Abid Rasool Khan, former chairman of the State Minorities Commission, believes that these things are easier said than done. “The mafia is organised. I recommend that the board be granted judicial powers immediately, so that it may act independently to remove encroachers,” he says.  He adds that he had suggested the constitution of a committee, with an IAS officer as its head, to survey the graveyards and suggest ways to protect them.

Grave yard situation
With mafia organised, The board needs to be granted judicial powers immediately, so that it can act independently and remove encroachers.

39,929
Institutions in Telangana run by the Wakf Board
77,538 acres 
The extent of land in the state owned by the Wakf Board 
2,706 
Institutions in Hyderabad run by the Wakf Board 
513 
Graveyards in the city
5,000
Graveyards in the state 

Graveyards encroached

Graveyards encroached

•  Dargah Hazratha Saidani-Ma-Saheba at Boats Club. 
•  Bodh Ali Shah Graveyard in Dabeerpura. 
•  Oontwadi Graveyard at Jummerath Bazaar. 
•  Godeh-ki-Khabar Graveyard in Aghapura. 
•  Takiyah Mughal Fakeer in Shamsheergunj

Need for judicial powers

• The Telangana State Wakf Board does not have the powers to evict encroachers, as a result of which people are eyeing graveyards as well as prime commercial lands.  
•  The government had assured the Muslim community that it would empower the Board with judicial powers. Syed Omer Jaleel, the Special Secretary for Minority Welfare Department, says, “The proposal is under consideration. If accepted, it will empower the Board to evict encroachers on its own, instead of approaching courts.” 
• The Department plans to set up an enforcement cell for the Wakf Board, which will take immediate action against encroachers. As of now, the chief executive officer of the board has to ask the GHMC or the police to evict encroachers. 
• Syed Osman Al Hajri of the Deccan Wakf Protection Society says, “Precious time is lost as the GHMC and the police have their own priorities. The persons who encroach upon properties approach courts and initiate litigation.”​