Kerala Mosque shifts 314 graves from own land to give it for NH expansion

Malappuram/Kerala: In a model gesture that may not been as a pattern in the state or in the country, a mosque in Kerala's Malappuram district has given away half an acre of its property for national highway development. The said property was part of its graveyard, which housed some 314 graves, most of them 15 to 50 years old.

Those who volunteered for the transfer of the remains of dead bodies from underground said that they came upon human remains dug in the soil and pieces of polyester cloth.

The graves were relocated under the leadership of the Palapetty Badar Mosque mahal committee and Darul Akhira Funeral Committee. Ever since the land was earmarked for road widening, the mosque committee had been using other parts of the graveyard for burying dead bodies arriving thereafter. When the authorities informed about the plan for using the portion of land about 15 years ago, the mosque body was using the western end alone.