Year after riots, 13 ‘illegal’ madrassas sealed in Uttarakhand's Haldwani

NAINITAL: Thirteen "illegal" madrassas were sealed by the Nainital district administration in Haldwani's Banphoolpura on Sunday as part of the ongoing crackdown on unregistered institutions in Uttarakhand, following directives from chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. A survey conducted earlier had identified 18 madrassas in Haldwani which were not registered with the state madrassa board or other authorities concerned, prompting Sunday's action.
With the operation set to continue on Monday, heavy police force was deployed in Banphoolpura to prevent any untoward incidents. Media access to the sites was also restricted. Notably, Banphoolpura was the site of violent clashes which broke out in Feb last year during an anti-encroachment drive to raze an "illegal" madrassa. At least six were killed and over 100 got injured in the violence.
Haldwani city magistrate, A P Vajpayee, said the action on Sunday was carried out in two phases from 11am to 2pm and from 3pm to 6pm. "Considering the violence last year, there was heavy police presence in the area to ensure such incidents are not repeated. No violence was reported on Sunday, and the action went smoothly," he added.
Additional district magistrate Vivek Kumar Roy said the sealed madrassas failed to produce documents required or permit to run them and faced complaints of "serious irregularities". He added that several of the institutions targeted during the operation had issues such as inadequate sanitation, improper seating arrangements, and a lack of basic security measures, including CCTV surveillance. Some were allegedly functioning within mosque premises, in violation of regulations.
Officials said the state govt has so far taken action against more than 140 illegal madrassas across Uttarakhand and removed over 560 mazars "built illegally on govt land". The govt has reclaimed about 6,000 acres of encroached land so far, they added.
Authorities said such enforcement drives will continue in order to "protect the welfare of students, uphold the rule of law, and ensure all educational institutions meet legal, safety, and regulatory standards". In an interview with TOI in March, Dhami had said "the crackdown on madrassas and other non-compliant organisations" would continue until the state is free from encroachments.