Mosque
The mosque sealed this week in Rajaji Tiger Reserve exposes a deeper rot: how illegal religious structures have been allowed to take root in forests for decades while authorities looked away. The Supreme Court had to intervene before the Asarodi site was finally locked and sealed, despite repeated violations of the Wildlife Protection Act.
Officials admit that no ownership papers were ever produced. Yet the building was permitted to stand inside the core zone — an area where construction is completely banned. This is not an isolated case. Across Uttarakhand, hundreds of shrines, mosques, and mazaars have mushroomed within protected land, with the forest department accused of acting only when public pressure or courts force its hand.
Rajaji is meant for tigers, not human monuments. Encroachment fractures tiger corridors, disturbs habitats, and normalises occupation of land that must remain wild. Until enforcement becomes proactive, every “sealed” structure stands as proof of deliberate negligence, not protection. Tigers pay the price for human claims.
The mosque article:
Based on Garhwal Post, India.
Photo via Garhwal Post.
