32 madrassas sealed in Uttarakhand over lack of 'valid' documents

RUDRAPUR: In the continuing crackdown on illegal madrassas across Uttarakhand, the Udham Singh Nagar district administration has sealed 32 unregistered institutions within two days. On Tuesday, officials shut down 10 madrassas in Sitarganj and eight in Kashipur. The drive continued till Wednesday evening, targeting institutions in Rudrapur, Jaspur, and Gadarpur.
The operation was ongoing on Thursday, with two madrassas sealed in village Kuraiya and one each in villages Kachhi Khamariya and Malsi, said Rudrapur SDM Manish Bisht.
Bisht, accompanied by officials, sealed two madrassas in Adarsh Colony and Seergotia after their operators failed to produce valid registration documents.
A third madrassa in Subhash Colony avoided immediate closure after its operator submitted partial documents. "The operator has been given one week to provide the missing documents," said SDM Bisht.
In Jaspur, SDM Chatar Singh Chauhan led a team that sealed five madrassas and issued notices to 14 others operating within religious premises. Meanwhile in Gadarpur, a team led by joint magistrate Ashima Goyal sealed three madrassas. "The drive will continue until all unregistered madrassas are either shut down or brought into compliance," Bisht said.
The campaign in Udham Singh Nagar began on March 12, with a joint team from the police, administration, and education department sealing four illegal madrassas in Khatima and issuing notices to five non-operational ones.
Over the past 15 days, authorities have sealed dozens of unauthorised madrassas across Dehradun, Haridwar, Roorkee, Vikasnagar, and Udham Singh Nagar.