Four mosques more mosques for DHA

The Defence Housing Authority (DHA) is planning four new mosques in Phases 5 and 6 in the next few months as it aims to build a mosque in each sector.

DHA public relations officer Shumaila Zamurd told a local newspaper that one new mosque, in Sector A of Phase 5, would be made operational by the end of April. The other three, being constructed in Sector H of Phase 5 and Sectors E and J of Phase 6, would completed by the end of June, she said. These sectors are sparsely populated with development work still underway.

“Our objective is that residents of each sector in all the phases of DHA have a dedicated local mosque, apart from the jamia mosques already present,” Zamurd said.

Each mosque is expected to accommodate up to 800 worshippers.

Each mosque has a covered area (hall) of around 2,450 sq feet and an open area (courtyard) of 3,850 sq feet. The hall will be able to accommodate 300 people and the courtyard 500.

Construction began last year in April.

The mosques will have ramps for senior citizens and persons with disabilities and parking areas. They will be fitted with air coolers. “We have to look at the cost effectiveness of any provision,” she said. “For now, air coolers seem an effective and relatively cheap way of providing cooler temperatures.” A mosque in Sector T of Phase 2 has also recently been fitted with air coolers.

Currently, there are only two operational mosques in Phase 5, in Sectors C and F, and two in Phase 6, in Sectors B and K. The DHA has sped up infrastructure development in the two phases and more and more people have started moving in to the area, Zamurd said.

The DHA has a total of 25 mosques, including seven in Phase 1, one each in Sectors A, B, C, E, K, M and N. Mosques are also located in Sectors Q, S, T and V in Phase 2, Sectors W, X, Z and XX in Phase 3, and Sectors AA, CC, DD and GG in Phase 4.