Mumbai: Metro work to move 20m away from fire temple

Parsi prayers have been answered at long last, at least in part - the Metro authorities will increase the distance between the proposed Kalbadevi station and the Wadiaji Atash Behram by 20 metres.

On Monday, the Parsi community finally had cause to cheer after the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) revealed in court that they will shorten the length of the excavation box of the planned Kalbadevi Metro station, putting a safe distance of 20 metres between it and the Wadiaji Atash Behram.

This will come as partial relief to the community, which could not prevent the construction of Metro III's underground tunnel under the fire temple's premises, despite a lengthy legal battle all the way to the Supreme Court.

Community happy
Elated with yesterday's development, chief petitioner Jamshed Sukhadwalla said, "I am happy that MMRC has cooperated and decided to re-arrange the entry-exit box at the south end of Kalbadevi station, which was earlier overlapping with the Wadiaji Atash Behram boundary wall. The station will now move away, which will make the Atash Behram less vulnerable to structural damage that can be caused by constant vibrations and controlled blasting."

Losses on the way
The 188-year-old structure is one of eight surviving Atash Behrams in the world. Parsi petitioners moved court to oppose the construction of the Metro III tunnel under the temple premises on two grounds: that it would desecrate the holy fire, and could damage the heritage structure. The cause took a big hit when the high priest of the Udvada fire temple Khurshed Dastoor backed the Metro project, claiming it wouldn't harm the Atash Behram.

Making an obvious reference to Dastoor's comments, Sukhadwalla said, "The irresponsible authority shown by progressive and pragmatic priests of the community last year has taken 15 months of rigorous legal and technical battle to set right."

Not only did the MMRC dig the tunnel against the community's wishes, but it also seemed adamant on building the Kalbadevi station uncomfortably close to the Atash Behram. The petitioners argued against its original alignment, which was a mere 5 metres away from the boundary wall of the Wadiaji Atash Behram, especially in a 2.125-metre stretch where the length of the station was 'overlapping' with the length of the fire temple on Jagannath Shankar Sheth Road.

Lucky break
The stars seemed to align for the Parsi community, as the Metro authority was forced to back down for another reason altogether. The MMRC was unable to acquire all the land it needed, resulting in the length of the station being shortened by 22 metres. Keeping the overlap of 2.12 metres in mind, this means Kalbadevi station will be 19.8 metres away from the boundary wall of the Wadiaji Atash Behram.

Earlier, the excavation box for the station was supposed to be constructed under seven buildings - Khan House, Dharamsee, building no. 591, Chuggumal Mansion, Pokhraj building, Raj Sheela building and Kapadia Chamber. It seemed like nothing less than divine intervention when the last two buildings - closest to the Atash Behram - could not be acquired.

Sukhadwalla gave credit for the win to senior counsel Fali Nariman, saying, "Even at the age of 90 years, he appeared for the Parsi community and achieved this win." The case will come up for hearing again on February 28.

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