Protests for Bandra cemetery: Charged community says state should stop fooling it; warns that elections are around corner

The state should withdraw the amendments carried out to the Development Plan for better town planning, demanded members of the Christian community at a protest meeting held on Friday at St. Peter’s Church.

People had gathered in hundreds after the BMC served the community a notice to take possession of St. Peter’s Sea Side Cemetery on Kadeshwari Road in Bandra for road widening.

The speakers said that the state should stop fooling them and remember that the elections are around the corner. They said that a temporary withdrawal of notice doesn’t mean anything. A notice of withdrawal, signed by Assistant Municipal Commissioner, was waived during the meeting. Ironically, the notice was issued by a senior officer of the Joint Municipal Commissioner rank. 

Father Frazer Mascarenhas, Parish priest of St. Peter’s Church and in-charge of the cemetery, said, “They should remove these amendments carried out on Sept 12 last year for better town planning. After the amendments, the road was made a main DP Road instead of a parallel one that they should look at widening.” The amendments allow change to road, rehabilitation, and resettlement policy.

He said, “There is a larger plan in place; the parallel road was to be part of the Coastal Road… For better planning, they should scrap it altogether. Had they been serious, in my meeting with them they would not have said that it's a small piece of land and that we have a lot of land space. Without feedback from locals (leaders) this would not have been possible.”

From St John Baptist Road to Kadeshwari Road, with the Christian cemetery to its left and a Jewish cemetery to its right, turns right soon after the cemeteries. It ends in a restricted access gate to a ground where a building is under construction and several other buildings have come up. Through the ground, Kadeshwari Road is like a narrow path used by people to walk towards Taj Land’s End at Bandstand. The speakers said the notice favours construction activity and commercial interests, the legality of which is suspect.

Protesters say that they are being targeted because...

The protesters said that they are being targeted because they are in minority but they will not sit back. “There will be political consequences if this issue is not resolved. There is strong presence of our community in the areas,” said Dolphy D’Souza. Other members said that a parallel road should have been developed instead of taking the cemetery, which is an emotional issue. 

“Technically and legally, they cannot take the land under the sections they have cited as they are for open land. Burials are structures as ruled by the courts,” said Vinod Noronha who gave a presentation on the matter. 

The Joint Municipal Commissioner and Assistant Municipal Commissioner did not answer to call and message from this newspaper. Meanwhile, the community plans to have a candle light march from the church to the cemetery on Jan 10.