Today I want to write about a diabolical plan that how more than one lakh square feet of land was occupied by vested interests building ‘Mazar’ and ‘Dargah’ on government plots in the holy land of Lord Krishna in Bet Dwarka was. An island on the Okha coast in the Devbhoomi Dwarka district of Gujarat.
Dwarka Dham is considered one of the four holiest shrines (dhams) among over a billion Hindus. This is the place where Lord Krishna met his poor classmate Sudama. There is an ancient idol of Lord Krishna around 5,000 years old in Dwarka. Over the years, much of this sacred island was occupied by people who built ‘mazaars’, ‘dargahs’, warehouses and residential buildings.
In the last four days, the Gujarat government launched a massive demolition drive to destroy over 50 encroachments and free up nearly one lakh square feet of government land.
How did vested interests occupied such territory, forcing the Hindus to sell their property and leave the island? I’ll go into the details of it.
India TV reporter Niyan Kapoor Bet went to Dwarka and gathered information about all the illegal structures and encroachments built there. A joint demolition operation began on Saturday in which officials of Okha Municipality and Dwarka district administration took part.
Balpar, Abhyamata Mandir, Hanuman Dandi Road, Okha Municipality Ward Office, Dhingeshwar Mahadev Temple and many other areas were vandalised. The encroachers did not even spare the government barren land and forest land.
The officials bulldozers demolished Dargah Siddi Baba, Dargah Bala Pir, Dargah Kamaruddin Shah Pir, Hazrat Daulat Shah Pir and Alam Shah Pir Mazar. Over a thousand security personnel from Gujarat Police, State Reserve Police and central paramilitary forces were deployed to prevent any violence. The entire operation was supervised by the District Collector of Devbhoomi Dwarka, IG Police of Rajkot range, three SP rank officers, nine DSPs and 20 inspectors.
How did so many dargahs and shrines become a place revered by lakhs of Hindus, especially Krishna devotees? Apart from its religious importance, Bet Dwarka is at a strategic location, close to the international maritime boundary in the Arabian Sea. Bet Dwarka and several other small islands come under ward number 5 of Okha municipality. In the last few years there have been large scale encroachments in a planned manner.
Government land, especially barren land and forest land and areas near Hindu temples were also targeted by the encroachers. Most of the enclaves were named ‘dargah’ and ‘mazar’. Huge residential buildings were built on the encroached land facing the sea. Warehouses were set up in coastal areas to show that illegal structures were being used for religious and community purposes.
The district administration conducted a survey to identify the illegal structures and the persons who built those structures. Major encroachers include Saleh Mohammad Sanghar, Ayub Sumania, Talib Latif Jadeja, Hamid T. Jadeja and Hussain Alina Jadeja.
Bet Dwarka Island is famous for its Dwarkadhish main temple. There are a total of 42 islands including Bet Dwarka. Except for the main island, all other islands have no inhabitants. It is also difficult to reach these islands. Launches and boats are used to reach these islands from the mainland of Gujarat. These illegally built religious structures have become a cause of concern for the coastal security agencies. Illegal activities take place with Mazars and Dargahs as masks. Our reporter was surprised to learn how massive construction materials reached these small islands from the mainland.
Bet Dwarka Island is located barely 58 nautical miles from the India-Pakistan maritime border. In recent weeks, the Coast Guard caught several Pakistani smugglers with consignments of drugs in Indian territory. Security agencies had received reports that religious structures on the uninhabited islands were being used for smuggling.
Gujarat Police IG Rajkot range Sandeep Singh told India TV reporter that most of the people living in Bet Dwarka island are fishermen, but in the last few years many traders involved in illegal business have started visiting these islands. They brought construction materials from the mainland of Gujarat and constructed illegal structures. He named most of the structures as Mazars or Dargahs to avoid detection and demolition.
During the demolition drive in the last four days, residential properties of many businessmen have also been vandalized. Among them is a local powerful Safar Panjari, who used to instigate Muslims in the name of opposing CAA-NRC. Another local strongman Haji Gani Pilani has a son in an Indian prison, while his other son is in a Pakistani jail.
Dwarka district’s SP Nitish Pandey said, in the past also a sabotage campaign was launched, but proved unsuccessful. The encroachers have occupied government land. Laws such as the Coastal Zone Construction Act and the Municipal Act abound, which these encroachers used to take advantage of. But this time, Pandey said, the district administration has prepared a comprehensive action plan.
The population of Bet Dwarka Island is now around 10,000, and most of them are Muslims. There are hardly 1,000 to 1,500 Hindus. Initially, residents faced a lack of drinking water and a lack of communication with the mainland. Fishermen began to live in these islands, but due to the sudden increase in the number of Muslims, now most of the Hindus have fled.
Every year five to ten Hindu families used to migrate from Bet Dwarka island due to encroachment and other illegal activities, said the head priest of Dwarkadhish temple. The temple priests are now happy with the demolition drive.
The overall demographics in Bet Dwarka, the land of Lord Krishna, have now completely changed. While Hindus are leaving the island, the Muslim population is increasing rapidly. Bet Dwarka is sensitive not only from the point of view of Hindu pilgrimage but also from the point of view of security interests of India. The coast of Pakistan is not far from here. Drug smugglers and criminal mafia find it a convenient place for their nefarious activities.
It is good that the local administration has taken cognizance of the problem and has taken action, but the question arises why no one paid attention when government land was being encroached upon and shrines and dargahs were being built. ? This question certainly demands an answer.
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