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Work begins on new marble Haji Ali Dargah
There is good news this Eid for Mumbai's most famous landmark in the Arabian Sea. Demolition and reconstruction work on the Haji Ali Dargah is finally starting. This time, it will be built in the same Makrana marble that was used for the Taj Mahal.
- IANS
- Published: 00:07 October 2, 2008
Mumbai: There is good news this Eid for Mumbai's most famous landmark in the Arabian Sea. Demolition and reconstruction work on the Haji Ali Dargah is finally starting. This time, it will be built in the same Makrana marble that was used for the Taj Mahal.
The Rs100-million (Dh8-million) project for the shrine in south-central Mumbai's Worli Bay will start immediately after Eid, and will be completed within two years, Haji Ali Dargah chairman and managing trustee Abdul Sattar Merchant said.
The Dargah, approachable by pedestrians from the mainland during low tide, has been crumbling away for several decades.
The renovation work was ceremonially started September 25 by delivering the first blow of the hammer at the 26-metre-tall minaret adjacent to the mausoleum.
The existing mosque, mausoleum, the enclosure where qawwalis are sung and living areas for the caretakers - encompassing a 4,500-square metre area - came up over 100 years ago.
Beyond repair
The Merchant family carried out major repairs to the existing structure in 1960, and again in 1985 to 1990, but now it is declared beyond repair by experts.
"The main cause behind the dilapidation is the corrosion of the reinforced cement concrete structure by the constant lashing of the waves, saline humidity and the increasing pressure of pilgrims thronging there. On important days like Eid, the crowds have crossed over 500,000," Merchant added.
As per the new design, there will be no concrete used. The shrine will be built on the lines of the Taj Mahal - with marble acquired from Makrana in Rajasthan, and joined together by a chemical process.
"The problem of corrosion will be solved permanently and the structure will be able to withstand nature's onslaught for at least another five centuries," Merchant hoped.
Sanctum unaffected
The renovation work, assigned to Structwell Designers & Consultants Pvt Ltd, will not affect the sanctum sanctorum where the relics of Haji Ali are preserved.
As per Islamic tradition, the new structure, including the minaret, will be slightly bigger than the existing one.
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