132-year-old tunnel discovered under Mumbai's JJ Hospital
Mumbai, Nov 4: A 132-year-old tunnel-like structure has been found on the premises of the government-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The 200-metre-long structure was found under a building which originally housed the Sir Dinshaw Manockjee Petit Hospital for Women and Children. It was later converted into a nursing college.
The tunnel came to light during an inspection of the building following a complaint of water leakage, officials said.
The foundation stone of the British-era heritage building was laid by Lord Reay, then Governor of Bombay, on January 27, 1890, said Dr Arun Rathod, Medical Superintendent of the hospital.
Hospital Dean Dr Pallavi Saple told PTI that they have apprised the Mumbai collector and Maharashtra Archaeology Department about the discovery as the building is a heritage structure.
Dr Rathod, who inspected the structure from inside, told PTI that it is 4.5 feet high and has several brick pillars. The entrance is sealed with a stone wall, he said.
They entered after opening what looked like a sealed ventilation duct, three ft-by-three ft in size. There are many such sealed openings on the front and the rear side of the structure, he said.
According to some former hospital employees, another British-era building located behind this building has a similar structure underneath, but it was yet to be verified, said Dr Rathod.
The two buildings could be connected by a tunnel but this was only a conjecture at this point, he said.
The building under which the tunnel was found was designed by architectural executive John Adams and inaugurated on March 15, 1892. The construction cost was Rs 1,19,351, Rathod said.
The JJ Hospital campus houses several British-era heritage structures.
"We are now planning to start a heritage walk through the hospital premises," said Dr Saple.
#LIVE | The tunnel discovered underneath Mumbai's J J Hospital is 200 m long.
— Express Mumbai (@ie_mumbai) November 4, 2022
For more live updates, follow: https://t.co/xmUT28G4Dx pic.twitter.com/2FmUuol3wN
#LIVE | Dr Pallavi Saple, the dean of Mumbai's J J Hospital, said the building under which the tunnel has been discovered was once used as a medical ward to treat women and children.
— Express Mumbai (@ie_mumbai) November 4, 2022
For more live updates, follow: https://t.co/xmUT28G4Dx pic.twitter.com/F1jTrghBzM
#LIVE | Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge at Andheri is closed from both sides for all types of vehicles and pedestrians from November 7 onwards, till further orders.
— Express Mumbai (@ie_mumbai) November 4, 2022
For more live updates, follow: https://t.co/xmUT28G4Dx
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No endeavour to build Ayodhya mosque, reclaim land given for it: BJP leader to Adityanath
Ayodhya (UP) (PTI): A BJP leader here has written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath, asking him to reclaim the land allotted for the construction of a mosque here and claiming that no substantial endeavour has been undertaken to build it.
On November 9, 2019, settling a fractious issue that went back more than a century, a five-judge bench headed by the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi paved the way for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, at the site where the 16th century Babri Masjid once stood. It also ruled that an alternative five-acre plot would be found for a mosque in the holy town.
The Sunni Central Waqf Board later formed the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation to build a new mosque on the land allotted by the state government in the Dhannipur area of the district.
BJP leader Rajneesh Singh, in his letter to the chief minister on December 10, said that since the apex court's verdict, "no substantial endeavour has been undertaken by the Muslim community to construct the mosque".
Their "intention was never to establish a mosque there but to perpetuate the discord under the pretext of a mosque", he alleged.
"In compliance with the Supreme Court's order, the land allocated to Sunni Central Waqf Board in Ayodhya is being used by the mosque's responsible persons for other purposes. The Muslim community's intention was never to construct the mosque but rather to keep the disturbance and disorder alive under the guise of a mosque. However, this has not been possible due to your leadership," Singh said in the letter to Adityanath.
Asserting that "a mosque is not necessary for offering prayers anyway," he appealed to the chief minister to "issue strict instructions to the officials of the Ayodhya mosque trust to use the land in compliance with the Supreme Court orders".
In case of being unable to do so, issue directives to return the land to the government to prevent its misuse, Singh said.
In a conversation with PTI, he said, "The Muslim community merely wishes to preserve Babar's legacy through this mosque and aims to manipulate Hindu sentiments in the name of Babri Masjid."
When PTI contacted Athar Husain, the secretary of the Ayodhya Masjid Trust, for his reaction to the issue, he refused to comment.
In 2022, Singh petitioned the Allahabad High Court, claiming that the Taj Mahal mausoleum is an ancient temple dedicated to the deity Lord Shiva and is known as the "Tejo Mahalaya".
