Repairs to the dilapidated 193-year-old Godavara Agiary (pictured) in the Fort area run by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) are under way. Much needed repairs to the roof and walls are being done at the rear of the Agiary first. The area housing the dadgah fire, the well and kitchens have been closed to worshippers for now.
Donations totalling Rs 26.26 lakhs have been received for the renovation. Ten lakh rupees, promised in September 2018, are to be received from BPP chairman Yazdi Desai personally. "Just because fewer members are attending the temple doesn’t mean that we will shift it,” he told the mid-day (MD) of January 24, 2019. The once busy fire temple sees about eight footfalls a day (see "Keeping Godavara going,” Parsiana, September 21, 2018).
Desai was quoted in the MD report that the fire temple would "not be sold.” Also on January 24, trustee Noshir Dadrawala gave his suggestion on alternative uses of the place of worship in a message to the community. "My view would be (to) ceremonially and with full ritual observations relocate the holy fire at a suburban colony... say Nirlon Parsi Colony in Goregaon (and) renovate the building into a home for Parsi senior citizens or low cost houses for Parsis.” He recommended that the place where the holy fire earlier burned could be made into a prayer hall with a small dadgah fire.
"Would it really be an act of apostasy moving any holy fire to a location where the need is greater?” he asked. He stated that of the six agiaries in the Fort area, many are languishing. On the other hand there is now a sizeable Parsi population in suburban Bombay where there is a need for a fire temple, he noted. "We need to have a long-term vision to ensure that those who are deprived of worship get what they need and those that need care or shelter get what they need... Use your Vohu Mana (good mind) and look at the big picture... There is no alienation of Parsi property... just achieving two purposes for the community at one go,” he exhorted. Citing previous instances of shifting of holy fires, including the one at Iranshah, Udvada, Dadrawala noted, "Our ancestors were more traditional than we are today. But, they also were practical and not foolhardy.”
The forsaken agiary shot into prominence after Udvada high priest and representative on the National Commission for Minorities Dastur Khurshed Dastoor suggested at the Global Working Group meeting on December 21, 2018 that the sacred fire at Godavara could be shifted to another agiary which could house it separately, the property could be sold, and the funds utilized to help mobeds (see "Favoring formalization,” Parsiana, December 21, 2018). "Try and use the property. After 15 or 20 years nothing will remain with the community,” he had stated.