Wall built to divide village road after residents fight
After the fight at a wedding last month, two communities decided to split village road
Patna: Villagers in Bihar have divided a street by putting up a boundary wall in the middle of the path, after a fight between two groups.
It happened in Panapur village in northern Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, some 80 kilometres from Patna. The village is home to 70 Muslim families dominated by Sheikh and Ansari communities.
Reports said a wedding feast had been organised at the residence of Bashir Miyan last month, during which a fight broke out between two groups of villagers. The issue became so serious that the villagers ultimately divided the village road by constructing a chest-high brick-wall in its middle.
Now, half the road is being used by the Sheikh community and the remaining part by the Ansari community. Villagers say the road’s division is causing much inconvenience to the residents, as four-wheelers are no longer able to take the road.
“The matter is indeed very serious. Dividing the public road by erecting a boundary wall is completely unlawful and we are investigating the case,” local Muzaffarpur district magistrate Mohammad Sohail told the media on Sunday, adding that the issue would tackled on priority basis.
A local resident, Mohammad Nasiruddin Ansari however said that the concerned road is not a public road but a private one, constructed with the help of local villagers some 15 years ago. “Of late, we have found the Sheikh community people creating nuisance in our areas and hence the wall has been constructed for our safety,” Ansari told the local media. He said they had nothing to do with what was going on the other side of the road.
Mohammad Salim Sheikh said they were finding it hard to even go to the local mosque now, and urged the local administration to intervene.
A local Qazi, Mufti Shamimul Ansari said, the very act of dividing a road is unpardonable. “People spreading hatred in society should fear from Allah,” said the Qazi.