Supreme Court Allows Cleaning of Sealed ‘Wazukhana Tank’ Inside Gyanvapi Mosque

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the cleaning of the ‘wazukhana tank’ inside the Gyanvapi mosque adjoining the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi. This ‘wazukhana tank’ remains sealed since May 2022.

The apex court said that the cleaning process would be done under the supervision of the Varanasi district magistrate.

‘Wazukhana’ is the reservoir where devotees go to perform ablutions before offering namaz. After the discovery of a structure that the Hindu side claims to be a ‘Shivling’, it has remained sealed since May 16, 2022. The Muslim side claims it is a ‘fountain’.

The Hindu side had filed a plea earlier this year, citing that dirt had been accumulated at the ‘wazukhana tank’ site.

Speaking to India Today TV, Hindu side’s advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain said, “Hindus who go there (wazukhana) to pray have complained about the site being dirty. It does not look good that a place where they go to pray is littered with dead fish and rotting water.