Owner of demolished Bandra cross hopes for restoration of symbol in his property

Everton Pereira (53) looks outside his Malad office window, introspecting about all that has happened since the past four days, how quite unwittingly he has been catapulted in the centre of a community vs BMC dispute

Everton Pereira at his office in Malad. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

Everton Pereira (53) looks outside his Malad office window, introspecting about all that has happened since the past four days, how quite unwittingly he has been catapulted in the centre of a community vs BMC dispute. Everton is the owner of the property that housed the cross in Bandra (W). The cross was uprooted by the BMC on Saturday, April 29 and now has become symbol of a huge battle between civic authorities and the community. In just four days, Everton has been transported from the land of sand, sea, surf and susegade to the Mumbai mayhem.

Says Everton, "I was on holiday in Goa when the demolition took place. I saw a few pictures on social media groups then, it did not even register that it was my property."

Everton claimed he rushed to the site on D'Monte street on Monday, "to see the cross gone. I am distressed that the community which is so close has lost a chance to pray here. My parents, my father Norbert and late mother Olive Pereira bought the property which is a residential property from a priest Monsignor Stanislaus Pereira, at least 60-65 years ago. My family knew the priest and heard he was selling it, so they bought it from him. The cross came with it. We always lived in Orlem, Malad but may be at that time, my parents thought that we would move to Bandra one day and live there. That is because we have a business of mattresses and furniture in Bandra on the station road."

Everton says that the "property was bequeathed to me a couple of years ago, by my mother, since the property was in her name. She passed away four years ago. It is a one storey residential building, which first had two tenants. Now, there is nobody there but we have retained it."

Everton said the community, "used to keep the cross all spruced up. It is not just me it is more they who will have so much sentimental value attached to it."

Everton though has not given up hope that the cross will be restored to its original place. "The corporation has to give it back or allow us to restore it. We can speak to an architect and see if they want to shift it." Architect plans can wait, though, till they get the cross back. Everton signs off saying, "everything that happens now should be in an atmosphere of peace. This involves a place of prayer and our actions should reflect that."

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