Agiyari to move out of Old City

AHMEDABAD: The Bukhara Mohulla at Khamasa Crossroads in the Walled City is home to two shrines. One is the Parsis’ Vakil Adariyan Agiyari fire temple. And the other is the only Jewish place of worship in Gujarat, the Magen Abraham Synagogue (built in 1934) of the small Bene Israel Jewish community.
Soon, the 131-year-old Parsi icon will move out of the famous neighbourhood.The Ahmedabad Parsi Panchayat has requested the AMC for a plot just beside the Parsi sanatorium near the riverfront.
A referendum held by the Parsi panchayat recently expressed the community’s resolve to relocate the temple. The panchayat consists of more than 1,700 members, and the majority gave their consent to shift the sacred fire to a new location in the western part of the city.
Ahmedabad Parsi panchayat president Brigadier Jahangir Anklesaria said, “The majority of the Parsi population now live in western Ahmedabad. The present location of the Agiyari is congested.” There are encroachments around the current site, he said. “It has been tough for our community to even get to the temple,” he said. “We want a large meeting place for the community’s youngsters.”
The Parsis’ neighbours in the Walled City, the Bene Israel community that has barely 139 members, recently held a meeting where they discussed problems arising out of encroachments on the synagogue’s entrance, and safeguards against terrorist strikes.