Local community stages a protest march to oppose R/South ward’s proposal to demolish a portion of the heritage church’s premises for road widening
Disgruntled with BMC’s R/South ward’s proposal to demolish the Holy Cross in the premises of Our Lady of Remedy Church and expand S.V. Road over a portion of the existing graveyard, around 550 people staged a protest at the ward’s office. The Holy Cross, the church and its premises in Kandivali’s Poisar area is a heritage precinct that dates back to 1550. On February 23, 2016, a chawl on the church’s property was demolished by the ward, leaving the community miffed.
A massive protest
The protest march was organised by Guardians United, Save Our Land, Watchdog Foundation, Church in the City, St. Vincent De Paul Political, Civic Cell and several other citizen groups. These groups also alleged that on April 21, 2016, a sub-engineer along with his team from R/South ward had threatened the church staff. The protest saw 550 people holding placards saying ‘Save our Burial Grounds’ and demanding that BMC take back its proposal. The protest march started from outside the church and went on till the gates of R/South ward.
Malad-based Dolphy D’souza of Save Our Land submitted a copy of the memorandum, highlighting important pointers. The memorandum states that “the church along with the Holy Cross qualifies and falls under the definition of the ‘ancient monuments’ as defined in the Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, and thus need to be preserved and protected. As per the Development Control Regulations for Greater Mumbai, 1995, particularly, the Heritage Regulations for Greater Bombay, 1995, framed under Regulation No. 67, lists some of the churches in Grade II A of the Heritage Regulation and contribute to the image and identity of the city.”
An alternative solution
Nicolas Almeida of the Watchdog Foundation shared, “There are several hutments and squatters near Poisar’s Raghuleela Mall, which are located very close to the church. Instead of removing these squatters and freeing the road of the encroachments that cause traffic, the ward, instead, wants to demolish the heritage cross and take over the graveyard area for the expansion of the road.” Officers of the R/South ward have promised to take up the matter with their seniors. However, the concerned officer was not available for comment.
Did you know?
- Our Lady of Remedy Church, built in 1550, is a heritage structure in Poisar, Kandivali (W).
- Our Lady of Remedy High School is one of the oldest schools in Kandivali (W), established in 1926.
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