Thane: India`s second world-class Islamic Cultural Centre will come up in the Muslim-dominated town of Mumbra in Thane, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said here Tuesday.
The centre, to be modelled after the one in New Delhi, will come up at a cost of Rs 25 crore, he said.
"It will help remove the academic backwardness among Muslim students and will offer opportunities for their economic progress and amalgamate them into the national mainstream," Pawar said.
Besides, a new industrial training institute, a community technical college and a girls` hostel for Muslim students would also be started here, said Thane legislator Jitendra Awhad.
The proposed community technical college will be set up in collaboration with University of Mumbai and other international universities, he added.
Minority Affairs Minister Naseem Khan expressed hope that these moves would give a fillip to the development of the Muslim youth and help their rapid all-round progress which in turn would benefit the minority community.
Situated around 15 km from Mumbai, Mumbra has a population of around one million, of which 80 percent are Muslims.
Mumbra shot into the limelight when it offered a safe refuge to thousands of Muslims who fled Mumbai in the wake of the two-phased riots that erupted in December 1992-January 1993 following the demolition of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya.
IANS
