The minaret of the abandoned mosque of that era is a sign of the town of Teknafar with its head broken

Teknaf Correspondent: Teknaf-Cox's Bazar Marine Drive road has been turned into a haunted area. It broke the head of Bara Dale village in Bahar Chhara union of Teknaf upazila. There were markets, mosques, cemeteries, maktabs and other large towns next to Zhaubagan. But in the course of time there is nothing now. There are some signs of the beheaded Jame Mosque as the last sign. The mosque is still standing with its head held high by the sea on the west side of the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf road. It is learned that Fazlur Rahman Miaji Prakash Fazal Mizzi built this mosque and a maktab by donating about 60 per cent of the land in 19952-53. It is built with hilly sand, cement and stone.

Maulvi used to lead the maktab in the mosque. Muazzin was also appointed. After completing the construction work of the mosque, Fazlur Rahman Miaji went on Hajj in 1954 and died there. Since then, his descendants have been taking care of the mosque. But on April 29, 1991, a catastrophic cyclone hit the town for the first time. Cemeteries, markets, mosques were damaged. The people of the area left the place and went further inland and built a new mosque next to DC Road. Although the old mosque no longer offered Friday prayers, the local Nazir Ahmad kept the call to prayer in the mosque for a long time and performed the prayers.

But as he got older, no one prayed Azan or prayers there for 20/22 years. Nazir Ahmed died 12/13 ago, said Sultan Ahmed, a local resident. He said that a Kazi Sahib used to teach in Maktab here. He and Nanaj have read in this mosque. People in the vicinity used to offer Friday prayers. The huge bazaar, cemetery, everything is lost in the abyss of time, but there is still a tall minaret in the mosque. Maulana Habibullah, a 64-year-old former chairman of Baharchhara Union Parishad, said, "My grandfather Fazlur Rahman Miaji was 10/12 years old when it was built. It was later damaged by a catastrophic cyclone on April 29, 1991.

Then a new mosque was built in its place. We are taking care of the land donated by Fazlur Rahman Miaji. He further said that in that mosque we used to offer regular prayers and studied in Maktab with that mosque. Chairman Habibullah's statement was supported by many worshipers including local Haji Abdul Rahman.

Going to the spot on Tuesday afternoon, it was seen that the mosque was basically covered with forest. So no one goes there much, not in the eyes of many. This is because the trees around the mosque and its roots cover other parts of the forest.

He entered the mosque and saw that the mosque had a dome. The walls of the mosque have a large pulpit, 16 feet long (north-south) with a pulpit and 12 feet wide (east-west).

The mosque has an arch and a few small niches in the wall. The mosque is believed to have been built of stone, sand, lime and surki.

Maulvi Aziz Uddin, chairman of Teknaf Baharchhara Union Parishad, said, ‘There is no doubt that the mosque behind the forest west of Marine Drive is very old. The matter has been informed to the concerned parties.