Towering success

"Finally truth has prevailed over falsehood,” stated Udvada High Priest Dastur Khurshed Dastur following the jashan on December 18, 2005 to celebrate the completion of the 25-floor Hilla Towers building at the Seth Dadabhoy and Seth Pestonji Wadia Agiary compound near Nowroz Baug, Lalbaug.

"Thirty-four injunctions were sought against us,” said real estate developer and director of Hilla Builders Private Limited Zarir Bhathena. "Not a single one was given, right from the Charity Commissioner up to the Supreme Court… still the struggle is going on.”

Bhathena’s detractors had alleged amongst other things that the sanctity of the agiary and its well had been defiled.

"Every project starts with a builder going to a solicitor” to prepare the documents, said Bhathena. However, in the case of Hilla Towers the objection started coming in from day one. But the assistance of a battery of legal talent including Homa Petit, (his assistant) Rajan, Nadir Modi ("the captain of the team”), Bucky Bhesania, Maneck Mulla and others saw Bhathena through the tumultuous years.

Bhathena also thanked his architect Rusi Khambatta, the various contractors, the trustees of the Wadia Agiary and the Zoroastrian Co-operative Bank who all stood by him.

Homi Ustad, the oldest resident in the chawl who along with the others was accommodated in the new building said, "We (the tenants) were looking forward to this day for 12 years. It’s good that Zarir Bhathena took over the project” five years ago.

"People went on keeping stones in the way of the project least realizing these stones made the building stronger,” said Dastur. "From day one my father was consulted and later on I. (We said) there is no problem from the religious point of view.”