Kolkata mosque offers part of premises for setting up quarantine centre

A mosque in the city’s Garden Reach area has offered a part of its premises to the state government to set up a quarantine centre, bringing some relief to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation which had been scouting for places to build isolation units for COVID-19 suspects.

Maulana Qari Md Muslim Razwi, the imam of Bangali Bazar Masjid, said on Friday (May 8) that the mosque committee, in keeping with the spirit of Ramadan, has decided to open the third floor of the building, spanning 6,000 square feet, for those placed under quarantine.

Parts of Garden reach area figure in the list of containment zones prepared by the state.

“We all know that the government had been scouting for spaces to set up a quarantine centre in the area, amid the rise in coronavirus cases in the city. We thought why not offer the entire third floor for the purpose. The floor has been cleaned and made suitable for setting up the isolation centre,” the imam said.

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Locals haven’t been visiting the mosque of late, as they have been told to pray at home, he said. Razwi also said that the mosque committee made the offer after taking to the locals, and “almost everyone readily agreed.”

A KMC official said the civic body was “grateful to the mosque for the offer.” “We need to have a quarantine centre in every belt that has containment zones. We will take the final call about setting up the facility after inspecting the space offered.”

Hailing the mosque’s decision, an official of West Bengal Imams’ Association said every religion calls for service to humanity. “We had urged the members of the community to support the government in whatever way possible to fight coronavirus. We are happy that a mosque has come up with such proposal,” the official added.