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Mumbai: The residents of suburban Bandra's Pereira Wadi, a community of more than 100 families at the foot of Pali Hill, have been left shell-shocked after a builder and a local resident struck up a pact that led to some of their homes being demolished.
This huddle of small homes and shops in the heart of upscale Bandra had been home to a few generations of Gujarati Catholics.
"The greed and betrayal of those in power made us beggars in a matter of hours," says Pushpa Thomas Jadhav whose home, along with 15 others, turned into a pile of debris within an hour last week.
The neighbourhood's unassuming calm of 125 years had been shattered in an hour of mayhem.
"My daughter-in-law Sunita, my grandchildren and I have been surviving for the last three days on the generosity of people living nearby since all our belongings were carted away in a police vehicle," says Jadhav.
Prime real estate
The residents are only now realising that the disturbing events have been orchestrated to nudge them out from what is being considered prime real estate.
However, by Wednesday, Sunita; along with Edwin Britto, another local resident; and Joseph Dias of the Catholic Secular Forum, who approached Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, got much-needed respite.
Deshmukh ordered an immediate halt to further demolitions and also ordered an inquiry.
"We want these developers to rebuild our homes because we don't intend to shift out of this place," says Sunita, a defiant resolve steeling her face.
"It is a clear case of some influential people trying to grab our land," says Monty Parmar, 25, whose home too has been reduced to a pile of rubble.
"Civic workers, who we believe were actually hired goons, refused to show the official papers authorising the demolition and instead rudely forced us out of our houses," Parmer said.
The menfolk who resisted the intrusion were promptly bundled into a police van whilst many women were dragged by their hair and shoved around.
The onset of the monsoon is worrying the residents, some of whom are quite old.
The Bombay Catholic Sabha presented a memorandum to Priya Dutt, the local MP. "She has asked the local MLAs to ensure that our homes are rebuilt but no politician has followed up so far," says Sunita.
Residents say that the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme (SRA) scheme initiated in their locality does not have the mandatory 70 per cent consent of all those who live in Pereira Wadi. "What is shocking is that the signatories to the scheme are either dead, bogus or do not reside in this area," says Sunita.
Everyone blames a local resident, Cyril Mackwan, for playing into the hands of a certain Sai Arnav Builders.
Residents allege that the developer has the support of Revenue Minister Narayan Rane, though he has stated that he has nothing to do with the company.
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