On the 2nd of this month around 21 families living in Pereira Wadi, a 125-year-old gaothan at Pali Naka were forced out of their homes and were mishandled by the police, to make way for redevelopment under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). Redevelopment under the SRA scheme needs the okay (signatures) of at least 70% of the residents, which residents claim the developers did not have and those that are there are bogus, though Sai Arnav Builders chief Dilip Bobde Patil claims he has the necessary 70%. With all the accusations being thrown around an inquiry has been setup to resolve this dispute.
Meanwhile, 200 odd citizens from across the city took a morcha to MP Priya Dutt’s home to submit a memorandum. Requests have also been sent to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and Smt Sonia Gandhi on June 3rd to intervene and help the distressed residents. As a follow-up to the agitation, a prayer meeting and a candle light march was convened on June 8th at 5.30p.m at Pereira Wadi. Organizations that participated were, St John Save Church, Committee, Sahar Citizen’s Forum, H/ West Citizen’s Federation , Bombay East Association and several others.
H-West ward citizens trust chairman Shyama Kulkarni shares her view, ‘I feel extremely angry at the way the demolition was done, and the primitive way the pregnant and elderly women were pulled out by their hair and you don’t expect men in uniform to behave that way with such utter disrespect’. Many citizens of Bandra are not even aware of the Pereira Wadi incident nor their current plight and so an awareness and protest gathering will be held at Mt Carmel Church grounds on Sunday 22nd June at 6.45pm to hear first hand accounts from the victims.
- Rommel Albuquerque
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