450-year old Haji Ali Dargah to Be Revamped

Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi, Cabinet Minister Aslam Shaikh and Trustee of Mahim and Haji Ali Dargah Suhail Khandwani along with other dignitaries recently held a meeting at Mantralay to chalk out the plan of Haji Ali Dargah. The 450-year old iconic Dargah at Mahalaxmi will witness major revamps in the upcoming years. Following are the plans for revamping: 

• Inspired from Mughal architecture, there will be a Buland Darwaza (big doorway) beside Haji Ali juice centre. 
• There will be a 30,000 sq.ft. garden which will be modelled along the lines of the Mughal Gardens at Rashtrapati Bhavan. 
• Tricolour will be unfurled at the top of the main gate. 
• Out of the total ₹35 cores that were budgeted for the project, ₹10 crores has been allocated. 
• The State Government, in an affidavit to the Supreme Court in 2018, had said that it would execute the beautification plan of the dargah precinct, but this has been pending for years. 
• It also includes widening of the 12-15 ft road leading to the dargah to a 30 feet road. 
• No illegal hawker will be allowed on the widened road and the road will be further decorated with street lights. Licensed hawkers will be provided with wooden stalls. 
• Further, there will be benches, toilets, police post and medical facilities. 

Also Read: Haji Ali: The 400 year old dargah which withstood storms and time

Here's the entire construction plan: 

Notably, on January 26, Mahim Dargah became the first place of worship to install a preamble inside their premises. Talking about the same, Suhail Khandwani had said that they had initiated this historic move to show solidarity towards the country and connect communities. He further said that the preamble was installed to ensure harmony and peace among all sections of society. The ceremony was attended by a group of scholars, secular academics, educationists and lawyers as well as police officers among other professionals.

Also Read: Mahim Dargah Becomes The First Place Of Worship In India To Install The Preamble