Bandra Agiary unruffled?
"Over 300 Christian protestors, including priests and nuns, nongovernmental organizations and parishioners,” some with rosaries and candles, took part in a silent protest against an alleged proposed takeover of church lands for widening of Hill Road, outside the civic ward office in Bandra West on June 22, 2018, noted The Times of India (ToI) the next day. They fear that the proposed takeover of land from the Church of St Andrew and the St Peter’s Church will damage the historic properties, including the graveyards, and that the land that is acquired may "ultimately be lost to hawkers.”
The news report also stated that the Nusserwanjee Ruttonjee Tata Agiary could come within the ambit of the road widening project, "though its trustees have not received a formal notification yet.” According to sources close to the Agiary trust who did not wish to be identified, there is currently no perceived threat of acquisition. The bogey of acquisition has been hanging over the Agiary for the last 11 years at least (see "Agiary’s uncertain fate,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, August 21, 2007). Taking a strong stand to preserve the Tata Agiary, corporators from all parties had come together to make then joint municipal commissioner (improvements) V. Radha withdraw the acquisition proposal.
The ToI report referred to a June 20 letter from assistant municipal commissioner of H West ward, Sharad Ughade saying that there was "no road widening at present.” When the parishioners sought clarifications about the time line implied in the phrase "at present,” the officer was non committal, activist Godfrey Pimenta told ToI. Ughade was quoted in the mid-day of July 23 that "in the case of the religious structures, we have not issued any notices... our priority is to ease the bottleneck and shift stalls on Hill Road causing a hindrance to traffic.”
The Church of St Andrew dates to circa 1575, according to their website, whereas St Peter’s Church was built in 1852. The Tata Agiary was opened for worship in 1884.
