KOTHAGUDEM: Tension prevailed in Manugur Cross Road area in Burgumpahad mandal on Thursday after the forest officials demolished the masjid that was built four years back.
The forest officials with the help of 20 police personnel, reached the location along with earth moving machines in the wee hours and pulled down the masjid.
The forest personnel also destroyed the borewell that was present in the premises of the masjid.
The masjid was located at the Manuguru crossroad near Sandilla Ramapuram, a village in Burgumpahad mandal. People from the community, got to hear of the razing and gathered at the location and offered Namaz on the road, as part of the protest against the action of the forest department. Traffic on Khammam–Manuguru- Bhadrachalam was hit with the stir.
Bhadrachalam MLA Sondu Veeraiah visited the spot and faulted the demolition.
Pinapaka MLA Rega Kanta Rao too called upon the agitators. The location of the masjid was away from the trench dug by forest officials. The villagers argued that that the structure was not within the limits of the forest area. But the forest officials claimed that the masjid was built in the reserved forest and they had asked the management to bring it down long back but in vain.
