Fire temple row: Mumbai Metro, priests to find solution on September 25

Wadia Atash Behram is one of the two fire temples threatened by Metro work. File pic

Parsis have now pinned their hopes of a positive outcome on the out-of-court meeting likely today with the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited, even as a legal tussle between the parties over the threat to the two atash behrams, continues.

In the crucial meeting, community representatives are planning to discuss eight alternatives to protect the Anjuman and Wadia Atash Behrams, as suggested by the petitioners. Certain community members, including Behruz Irani, a petitioner, will be accompanied by architect Karl Wadia for the afternoon meeting. Legal representatives are also planning to put the report filed by technical expert Nicola Della Valle, a mining engineer and tunneling consultant, on record in court, depending on the meeting's outcome.

Religion matters
Chief petitioner Jamshed Sukhadwalla said he is hopeful they can arrive at a solution at the meeting, because irrespective of the verdict, the legal case won't stop at Bombay High Court and will reach the Supreme Court. "If they can honour our sentiments, we'll cooperate with their project. We never wanted to stall the project in the first place," he added.

The courtroom at HC was filled with at least 50 Parsis yesterday, all intently listening to every word of MMRCL's senior counsel Anil Anturkar, and still upset over the "insensitive" comments made by Srihari Aney, former advocate general who also represents MMRCL, in court during the previous hearing on September 21. Aney had reportedly suggested that Parsis can "pray anywhere, even on the road", and added that as there are four atash behrams in Mumbai, damage or desecration of two will still leave two for the community. On more than one occasion, Aney has also stated that the Metro tunnel doesn't affect any part of the essential practices of Zoroastrianism.

The comments had infuriated Parsis, who'd said Aney had ridiculed their religion. "We didn't expect them (MMRCL) to stoop so low. Like every other religion, there are sects in Zoroastrianism too - Kadmi and Shenshai. Hence the different fire temples for different sects. How could Aney say it's fine if two get desecrated?" said 62-year-old Freny Bhadha.

Another senior member of the community, Homiar Mehta, 66, pointed out that during the last hearing, Aney had made several derogatory comments, such as references to sacrifice of animals at Bakri Eid, which had no relevance to their religion or the issue at hand. "These questions wouldn't be asked if the tunnel was going through places of worship belonging to Hindus or Muslims. Why should we have to prove anything? Our religion is the oldest one... Aney has insulted us," he said.

'Community hurt'
Noshir Dadrawala, one of the BPP trustees, said the community has been deeply hurt by Aney's comments. "It is disgusting to make such comments in open court. Parsis are the builders of Bombay. I don't expect Mr Aney to know about our customs. But if he is going to make such comments, he should read about our religion in Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsis by Dr Sir J J Modi," he added.

Referring to the importance of their religious protocol, Dadrawala said that contrary to Aney's comments about the importance of fire temples, fire is the most important icon of Zoroastrianism. "Every religion has an icon through which it looks up to god. Fire is ours, through which we worship Ahura Mazda. Fire is the giver of life and dispels darkness," he added.

In court
In the arguments made during the hearing yesterday, Anturkar pointed out that the community's allegation that the slab collapse in Jer Mahal Annexe near one of the atash behrams in April and cracks spotted in Wadia building are due to the drilling for Metro construction is based on guesswork.

He claimed that on the day of the incident, both tunnel-boring machines were nonfunctional, having broken down earlier. "Jer Mahal Annexe was classified as dilapidated and was meant to be evacuated on July 21 in 2015. We're in 2018 now. The cracks may have developed before Metro work had even started. The claim that because Jer Mahal was damaged, atash behram, too, would be is a figment of their imagination," Anturkar said. He also argued that incidents in Chennai cannot be compared to Metro work in Mumbai as the soil composition of both cities is different. The arguments will continue in the hearing to be held today.

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