Mecca Masjid staff not paid for the past one year

Even as the State government is gearing up for the budget (2017-18), the staff of Mecca Masjid in the Old City, that receives salaries from the Minority Welfare Department are left in lurch. Amongst them some of them have not received salaries for nearly one year.

Similar to some of the unpaid wings of the Department, officials continue to cite the reason as lack of budget. According to sources, the staff, which includes 25 security men and women, two police constables and 23 home guards (including four females) besides the Superintendent, his subordinates like Manager and most revered positions like Imam and Mauzen of the historic mosque, have been paid irregularly. In addition, the salaries of the entire staff have been blocked for nearly four months at a stretch.

“This is clearly demoralising. I am amongst those unfortunate ones who could not get salary for more than 10 months. Each time we represent the issue, the lack of budget is being cited, affecting my familial life miserably,” said one security guard to The Hans India.

As part of the mosque’s renovation work, the State government has sanctioned Rs 10 crore, but it remains a long drawn process. Because of the inconvenience created to the namazis during the previous Ramzan the Management hasd asked the government to complete the process including repairing of CCTV cameras prior to the next month of fasting.

According to security officials of Mecca Masjid the CCTV cameras installed during 2008 were supposed to be upgraded with HD ones. Let alone the materialisation of the idea, the old ones stopped functioning due to poor maintenance and neglect. The Minority Welfare Department, which takes care of the repair and maintenance, is also responsible for the security inside the mosque.

It was promised during the visit of the Deputy CM Md Mahmood Ali during Ramzan, that the government would be taking up the task of revamping the entire security mechanism but it remains pending. Temporary cameras are installed at the entrance, but not inside the mosque. “We have been pursuing the matter with the concerned officials, but it is a fact that the delay is causing misery,” said Qadeer Siddiqui, Superintendent of Mecca Masjid.

By MD Nizamuddin