Image: https://muslimmirror.com
By March 28, 2022, it will be three months since the Muslim community in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh lost the only concrete road connecting their village to the big market in Dadri city. The 100-year-old route was disconnected after the construction of a cement wall on December 28, 2021, as per a reprot in the Muslim Mirror.
As per the report, Nai Abadi – an area in the district that has a Muslim majority – had many families living along the road that connected villagers to the main market and railway road. Children also used this route to go to school, avoiding the busy GT Road that is prone to many accidents. Residents claim that although the closure of the road was attempted many times, the police allegedly locked people in their houses before starting the work in December.
However, the forced construction of the wall at the insistence of the majority community has put the lives of Nai Abadi residents for a toss. According to Muslim Mirror, the people protested several times for the removal of the wall but police personnel remain stationed near the wall to prevent anyone from demolishing the structure. Some people also approached the ACP, who promised to take some action. Yet even after three months and an election, the situation remains the same.
After elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Tejpal Singh Nagar won the constituency with Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Rajkumar Bhati as the runner-up with a victory margin of over 1.38 lakh votes. Despite sustained protests from people, neither candidates were vocal about the issue regarding the wall.
The Muslim community that forms a major chunk of the population, has long since expressed frustration with the SP especially because the owner of the land where the road is built belongs to deceased SP MLA Mahinder Singh Bhati’s son and Congress MLA Sameer Bhati. Both politicians long garnered the favour of the Muslim community until the construction of the wall.
When approached by the local newspaper Jai Hind Samvad, MLA Sameer Bhati claimed to have no knowledge about the land because his brother sold it to local people. However, residents allege that Bhati lied and allowed the construction of the wall on request of the people who bought the land of this route from him.
Further, locals told the Muslim Mirror about tense communal relations in the area with members of the Hindu community, distributing sweets after the wall was erected. The sudden barrier has also blocked access to a local mosque and chemist shop along the road that nowadays remains on the other side of the wall. Both these buildings were crucial to the community as they do not have any alternative services in the vicinity.
Residents claim that they have also taken legal advice from a lawyer, who confirmed that the construction is illegal in nature. However, with legal proceedings being slow and the police apathetic to the situation, the Muslim community is left with only one option to use the other long-winded and accident-prone route.
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