In a tragic development, the man, who built a mini Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district in memory of his wife, died in a road accident on Friday. The 83-year-old man, Faizul Qadri, was hit by a vehicle in Kesar Kalan on Thursday. He was rushed to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries a day later.
Qadri, a retired postmaster who got married to his wife Taja Mulli Bibi in 1953, had begun the construction of his mini Taj Mahal in 2012 by using all his lifelong savings. Qadri could not complete the structure since he ran out of funds. After the news of Qadri’s problems came to light, the then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav had invited him to meet him in Lucknow.
Yadav reportedly offered him the help to complete the structure so that he could pay his tribute to his wife. But Qadri reportedly refused the offer and, instead, asked the chief minister to construct a school for girls.
Taking to Twitter, Yadav wrote, “He wanted to construct a mini Taj Mahal in memory of his wife with his own money. His desire was to construct a school for girls in the village. My government fulfilled his wish. Today’s government too should make such attempts.”
जो अपनी बेगम की याद में अपने पैसों से ‘छोटा ताज महल’ बनाना चाहते थे, उनकी एक इच्छा गाँव में लड़कियों के लिए स्कूल बनवाने की थी, हमने उनकी ये इच्छा पूरी भी की थी. आज की सरकार को भी ऐसे प्रयास करने चाहिए। pic.twitter.com/ddXENROwB8
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) November 10, 2018
Qadri’s relatives, according to a report by IANS, said that the deceased had saved Rs 2 lakh, which he was planning to use to buy marbles from Jaipur in order to complete his mini Taj Mahal. The family, which has refused a post-mortem of his body, said that they bury him alongside his wife, just like the Taj Mahal, where Mughal emperor Shah Jahan is buried next to Mumtaz Mahal, his wife.
The family members have promised to complete the remaining works of the mini Taj Mahal.
