Christian organisations protest BMC’s plans to widen Hill Road
Several Christian organisations staged a candlelight protest outside the H-West office of the Brihanumumbai Municipal Organisation (BMC) on Friday, seeking a firm reply on whether the three heritage sites in Bandra would be razed for road widening.
They submitted a memorandum ahead of the implementation of new blueprint of the city's Development Plan (DP), which may come into force from June.
Land from the three heritage sites in Bandra, St Andrew’s Church, St Peter’s Church and Tata Agiary, is likely to be acquired in the revised DP for the Hill Road widening. The authorities of the Christian organisations claimed that Additional Municipal Commissioner Sharad Ughade from Bandra H-West Ward had verbally informed the parish priest of St Peter’s Church, hinting about road widening.
“There was no formal intimation given to us. Ughade called Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas a month ago and told him about the possibility of road widening. Again in early June, some residents of nearby societies were informed about the same. Just to solve the issue of congestion, they can’t touch a Grade I heritage structure. It would cut through the church, affecting the graveyard,” said Advocate Godfrey Pimenta, from the Watchdog Foundation.
Pimenta had mailed Additional Municipal Commissioner Ughade, seeking clarification on the Hill Road road widening and stating that they would agitate outside the H-West BMC office otherwise. However, after getting no response from Ughade, they were compelled stage a protest on Friday.
Dolphy D’souza, former president, Bombay Catholic Sabha and spokesperson of Save Our Land (Soul), pointed at vested political interests. “Such things happen only during the elections. It is unfortunate how on one hand they allow encroachments, and on the other, they consider demolishing heritage structures. The community is unnecessarily hassled. They should find a bypass and tell us clearly that they would not touch these heritage structures. They can’t take us for granted because we are in the minority,” he said.